Paul Rockower is a gastronomist and recent graduate of the Master’s of Public Diplomacy program at the University of Southern California. He is the Communications Director for Public Diplomacy Corps, an organization dedicated to bringing public diplomacy to the public.

This article introduces the concept of gastrodiplomacy and focuses on the Korean-Mexican fusion food as an example of how local and creative initiatives can have a strong impact in promoting Korean cuisine abroad. Apart from international campaigns aimed at promoting traditional and authentic dishes, it is also important to support local initiatives and appeal to local tastes. By doing so, Korean cuisine can be efficiently introduced to a new and broader audience and has an opportunity to associate the image of the country with an original and tasty experience.

A variation of this article originally appeared in the blog of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy as well as in the Korea Times. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Branding Korea.

Re-branding Korea & the role of Gastrodiplomacy

South Korea has been actively engaged in a serious re-branding effort. The South Korean government has been worried that the country’s brand has been underperforming in years past, and not at the level befitting a country the solid middle power that it is. There was consternation on the fact that Korean brands had better awareness recognition than the country, or when recognized, that often Korean brands were mistaken as Japanese models.

One area that the Korean government has chosen to try to conduct public diplomacy outreach is in the realm of gastrodiplomacy. Gastrodiplomacy, most plainly put, is the act of winning hearts and minds through stomachs.

Gastrodiplomacy was a technique perfected by Thailand, which first used its kitchens and restaurants as outposts of cultural diplomacy. Given the growing popularity of Thai restaurants around the globe, in 2002, the government of Thailand implemented the “Global Thai program” as a means to increase the number of Thai restaurants. The Thai government’s rationale, The Economist noted, was that the boom in restaurants,

will not only introduce delicious spicy Thai food to thousands of new tummies and persuade more people to visit Thailand, but it could subtly help deepen relations with other countries.

The success of Kogi & the rise of the Korean Taco Truck

While the Korean government has been trying to engage in gastrodiplomacy based from Seoul, the Korean diaspora has created its own innovations to Korean cuisine in Los Angeles in the form of the widely popular Korean taco. As such, the Korean community has been conducting its own informal Korean gastrodiplomacy.

Recently, the Los Angeles dining scene has been abuzz with Korean-Mexican fusion cuisine. The Kogi Taco Truck, which sends out its location via Twitter and features Korean-Mexican fusion fare, has become a veritable cult phenomenon on the LA dining scene. When it first opened, lines snaked for up to two hours, as hungry diners waited to eat barbecued beef tacos slathered in Korean “salsa roja”, and topped with cilantro, onions, cabbage slaw and soy-sesame chili. The LA Times comments on the popularity,

perhaps it’s the exquisite cultural co-mingling inherent in the food that draws the crowds; the only-in-LA combination of two of the city’s most beloved ethnic cuisines.

According to The New York Times, Kogi owner Roy Choi, said the idea,

was to bring his ethnic background together with the sensibility and geography of Los Angeles, where Koreatown abuts Latin-dominate neighborhoods in Mid-City, and where food cultures have long merged. Former Mexican restaurants, now Korean, serve burritos, and Mexican workers populate the kitchens of Korean restaurants.

The popularity of Kogi and Korean-Mexican fusion food has led to a mushrooming of Korean taco trucks getting involved in the act. Various trucks such as SeoulBBQ, Kimchi23, BullKogi and Calbi all drive around LA streets, serving up Korean tacos, bulgogi burritos and kimchi quesadillas. As well, Korean taco trucks have even begun to pop up in New York.

Promoting Korea through Korean Taco Trucks

Korean taco trucks are literally embassies of Korean culture. The Korean government can take its gastrodiplomacy efforts a step further by creating public/private partnerships to harness the phenomenon of Korean tacos. Gastrodiplomacy is perhaps best conducted with attention to local level perspective and even private sector insight. My advice would be to deputize these kimchi ambassador wagons and send them forth from Los Angeles.

Real public diplomacy towards America doesn’t exist solely on the coasts but also very much in America’s heartland. Korea would be wise to send forth legions of taco trucks to introduce Korean tacos across the hills and plains of America. Send taco trucks to Texas, to introduce Korean barbecue to Texas cowboys and Korean tacos to the land of Tex-Mex. Send the trucks to Kansas City, to Memphis and the Carolinas to challenge for the global barbecue crown. Perhaps even send one truck headed south of the border to introduce Mexico to Korea’s take on their traditional fare.

For the wide swathes of Americans who don’t travel abroad, it is through culinary experiences that Americans often discover other parts of the world. The delicious beauty of the Korean taco is that it takes something somewhat foreign to the American palate and introduces it through a more familiar entrée. The Korean taco offers a tasty first image of Korea and serve as an initial culinary travel experience.

Korea’s efforts to rebrand itself and push Korean gastrodiplomacy would be best served by working with organic, authentic and homegrown outlets of cultural gastrodiplomacy found in the Korean taco truck.