Korean Food Culture

Korean royal court cuisine (Joseon Wangjo Gungjung yori) is the traditional cuisine eaten at the court of the Joseon Dynasty, which governed Korea from 1392 to 1910. All together known as kungjiung umsik throughout the pre-modern era, the foods of the royal palace were reflective of the opulent nature of the past rulers of the Korean peninsula. the opulent nature of the royalty is evidenced in examples as far back as the Silla kingdom, where a man-made lake (Anapji Lake, located in Gyeongju) was created with multiple pavilions and halls for the sole purpose of opulent banquets and a spring fed channel, Poseokjeong, was created for the singular purpose of setting wine cups afloat while they wrote poems.

Reproducing the regionalism of the kingdoms and neighboring countries of the peninsula, the cuisine borrowed portions from each of these areas to exist as a showcase. The royalty would have the finest regional specialties and delicacies sent to them at the palace. Although there are records of banquets pre-dating the Joseon period, the majority of these records mostly reflect the vast variety of foods, but do not mention the specific foods presented. The meals cooked for the royal family did not reflect the seasons as the commoner's meals would have. Instead their meals varied day-to-day with significant variations. Each of the eight provinces was represented each month in the royal palace by ingredients presented by their governors, which gave the cooks a wide assortment of ingredients to utilize for royal meals.

Food held a central place in Joseon period. Official positions were created within the Six Ministries (Yukjo) that were charged with all matters related to procurement and consumption of food and drink for the royal court. The Board of Personnel (Ijo) contained positions specific for attaining rice for the royal family. The Board of Rights (Yejo) were responsible for foods prepared for ancestor rites, attaining wines and other beverages, and medicinal foods. There were also hundreds of slaves and women who worked in the palace that had tasks such as making tofu, liquor, tea, and tteok (rice cakes). The women were the cooks to the royal palace and were of commoner or low-born families. These women would be split into specific skill sets or "bureau" such as the Bureau of special foods (Saenggwa-bang) or the Bureau of cooking foods (Soju-bang). These female cooks may have been assisted by male cooks from outside the palace during larger banquets when necessary.

Five meals were commonly served in the royal palace each day during the Joseon period, and records suggest this pattern had existed from antiquity. Three of these meals would be full meals, while the afternoon and after dinner meals would be lighter. The first meal, mieumsang, was served at sunrise and was served only on days when the king and queen were not taking herbal medicines. The meal consisted of rice porridge (juk) made with ingredients such as abalone (jeonbokjuk), white rice (huinjuk), mushrooms (beoseotjuk), pine nuts (jatjuk), and sesame (kkaejuk). The side dishes could consist of kimchi, nabak kimchi, oysters, soy sauce, and other items. The porridge was thought to give vitality to the king and queen throughout the day.

The chief meals of the day were the sura. Breakfast was served at ten in the morning and the evening meals were served between six and seven at night. The set of three tables (surasang), were usually set with two types of rice, two types of soup, two types of stew (jjigae), one dish of jjim (meat stew), one dish of jeongol (a casserole of meat and vegetables), three types of kimchi, three types of jang and twelve side dishes, or called 12 cheop. The meals were set in the suragan, a room specifically used for taking meals, with the king seated to the east and the queen to the west. Each had their own set of tables and were attended by three palace servant women known as sura sanggung. These women would remove bowl covers and offer the foods to the king and queen after ensuring that the dishes were not poisoned. The surang should be served with three tables and a hotpot. The largest round table at the right upper corner is the main table which contains main bowl, soups and stews, dishes, side dishes and fermented stored dishes. The small round table at the left upper corner contains red sura, gomtang or thick meat broth, dessert, tea, empty dishes and bowls. This table is also used to store the covers of bowls and dishes used in the main table. The rectangular table in the right lower corner contains eggs, sesame oil, various raw vegetables and several sauces. The hotpot at the left lower corner is heated with charcoal, and usually contains jeongol such as sinseollo. Jeongol is a category of elaborate, colorful stews in Korean food culture. It is analogous to the category of Korean stews called jjigae, with the main distinction being that jjigae are commonly made with only a single main ingredient, and named after that ingredient (such as gimchi jjigae or sundubu jjigae), while jeongol usually contain a variety of main ingredients. One more difference is that jeongol (as gujeolpan) was initially a dish for upper-class Koreans and members of the royal court, while jjigae was a simpler dish for commoners. Jeongol as a rule contain sliced beef and/or seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, and other seasonings, which are boiled with a small amount of broth in a jeongolteul (a flat pot used only for cooking jeongol). They may also include mandu (dumplings). Jeongol are generally spicy, containing added gochujang or chili pepper powder, although these ingredients may be omitted. The diversity of broth used varies according to the type of jeongol being made. What's about Sinseollo or yeolguja tang, it is an elaborate dish consisting of meatballs, small and round jeonyueo, mushrooms, and vegetables cooked in a rich broth in Korean royal court cuisine. The dish is a form of jeongol (elaborate chowder-like stew). It is served in a large silver vessel with a hole in the center, in which hot embers are placed to keep the dish hot throughout the meal. The term sinseollo derives from the name for this vessel and yeolguja tang, which literally means tang (soup) making a mouth enjoyable.

What is remarkable, there has been a revival of this cuisine early in the 21st century and still, in this day and age, in korean cuisine culture it is very common.