Korea is one of the most homogeneous societies in the world... and for centuries， the Korean
people have taken pride in their ethnic homogeneity. But， as a Seoulite in 2015 today... I can
tell you from personal experience that this society is becoming more diverse by the day.
I have official figures to back my argument： The number of expats in Korea has topped 1－point－8
million as of this year and more foreign tourists are choosing this country as their vacation
destination. But， are there enough materials for foreigners
to learn about Korea － no， not Korea′s traditional dish bibimbap， traditional attire
hanbok， or pretty boybands or gorgeous girl groups － but the REAL Korea today？
Well， here is one expat who has taken the initiative to do just that.
In person with me in the studio is Dr. Benjamin Joinau. Dr. Joinau is a cultural anthropologist
from France... and the author of ″Sketches of Korea.″
Dr. Joinau， welcome to the program.
Korea through the eyes of a foreigner Let′s kick things off with your book － it′s
a foreigner′s guide to Korean culture. But， there are so many guides of such these days...
just a quick trip to the nearest bookstore would be enough. Tell me， what is different
about your book － what inspired to write one yourself？
We wanted to do this book， because， even if there are
many general introductions about Korean culture， they are whether written by non－specialists，
whether published by institutions whose goal is to promote Korean image. So they often
lack the objectivity needed. We also wanted to publish a practical guide with visual materials
to make it really helpful for foreigners.
Having lived in Korea for more than 20 years － that′s much longer than I have lived
in this country － what were some of the most interesting or important points about
Korea or Koreans that you wanted to convey to non－Koreans？
The cultural abstract...
Food is such a huge part of culture and I know that you′re both interested AND involved
in Korean as well as French cuisine. In your view， do Korean dishes uniqely reflect
Korean culture or
the Korean people？ I think ′rural′ is thereal Korea... ′Cucina
povera′... Hallyu challenge...
try not to lose its spirit and soul while pursuing commercialized， globalized foods...
What′s your plan from hereafter？ Do you have a new project in the works？
Benjamin Joinau， cultural anthropologist， professor， restauranteur， AND author of
a foreigners′ guide to Korean culture － Sketches of
Korea thank you so much for your time tonight. It was wonderful speaking with you.
First， we are going to publish this book in French next year in March. I am also the
co－author of a book published soon in French about Korean cities. And I plan to work on
a book on Korean cinema and the image of otherness next year. I have many projects