London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Soju Party: How to Drink (and Eat!) Like a Korean [forthcoming]

Drinking is an essential part of Korean culture, one that’s guided by a complex web of unspoken rules, deep tradition, and lots and lots of food. With Soju Party, food writer, chef, and co-owner of Brooklyn’s Orion Bar Irene Yoo has written the book on drinking like a Korean. She introduces the classic Korean alcohols and … [Read More]

Balli Balli: Quick Korean recipes for every day [forthcoming]

Exciting Korean recipes for people with busy lives that want delicious meals in a hurry. Recreate your favourite Korean takeaway with this collection of over 70 super speedy recipes. Simple and quick recipes to whip up in your kitchen for easy weeknight dinners. Korea is often described as having a balli, balli culture (balli translates … [Read More]

Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom

Korean Cooking Wisdom, From Mother to Daughter Through recipes and conversations, a Korean mom passes down the flavors, kitchen secrets, and memories behind cherished dishes to her daughter—and now to you. The viral online kitchen collaboration of social media star Sarah Ahn (@ahnestkitchen) and her mother, Nam Soon, is now a must-have cookbook that blends … [Read More]

Banchan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides

Banchan, the shared side dishes that accompany a Korean meal, are often the real stars of the table, and it’s time we celebrate them. This first-of-its-kind cookbook showcases the wide world of banchan, from traditional staples to modern Korean American renditions, with 60 recipes from the kitchen of chef Caroline Choe. Highlighting this underrepresented aspect … [Read More]

Jang: The Soul of Korean Cooking

In the first book on the subject in English, South Korea’s best chef shows readers how to cook with jangs—the sauces that are the essential building blocks of all Korean cuisine. In the 60 home-cook-friendly dishes, he demystifies jangs while showing how they can be used to make both Korean and Western dishes more delicious. * … [Read More]

The Korean Cookbook

350 authentic and delicious Korean recipes for the home cook, written by the perfect guides to this extraordinary cuisine – an acclaimed Korean chef and a Korean culinary expert The Korean Cookbook celebrates traditional regional dishes and everyday food found in home kitchens from Seoul to Jeju Island. This stunning collection features more than 350 recipes organized … [Read More]

Sohn-mat: Recipes and Flavors of Korean Home Cooking

Sohn-mat is a master class in how to make this exceptional tofu soup at home, as well recipes for all of the other dishes you need to complete the meal, from banchan, to kimchi, to large-format dishes like bibimbap. Beyond its loyal customers, Beverly Soon Tofu was highly acclaimed. The restaurant was written about by Jonathan Gold and Ruth … [Read More]

Introducing Korean Popular Culture

This new textbook is a timely and interdisciplinary resource for students looking for an introduction to Korean popular culture, exploring the multifaceted meaning of Korean popular culture at micro and macro levels and the process of cultural production, representation, circulation and consumption in a global context. Drawing on perspectives from the humanities and social sciences, … [Read More]

Rice Table: Korean Recipes and Stories to Feed the Soul

Rice Table | bap sang is a collection of 80 recipes showcasing modern, Korean home cooking. A Korean living in the UK, Su Scott was thrown into a crisis of identity when motherhood dawned, one which she only found her way out of by cooking the dishes of her Korean childhood, seeking out the flavours … [Read More]

A Global History of Ginseng: Imperialism, Modernity and Orientalism

Sul’s history of the international ginseng trade reveals the cultural aspects of international capitalism and the impact of this single commodity on relations between East and West. Ginseng emerged as a major international commodity in the seventeenth century, when the East India Company began trading it westward. Europeans were drawn to the plant’s efficacy as … [Read More]

Record of the Seasonal Customs of Korea: Tongguk sesigi by Toae Hong Sŏk-mo

Record of the Seasonal Customs of Korea (Tongguk sesigi) is one of the most important primary sources for anyone interested in traditional Korean cultural and social practices. The manuscript was completed in 1849 by Toae Hong Sŏk-mo, a wealthy poet and scholar from an influential family. Toae, with his keen interest in the habits and customs … [Read More]

The Chemistry of Korean Foods and Beverages

From the publisher’s website: As people embrace new traditional cuisines, curiosity about the chemical composition follows. Korean foods and beverages have been inspired by Korea’s unique location and climate. Some Koreans believe food is medicine, and this belief promotes the use of balanced and nutritional ingredients. The most distinctive feature of Korean food is the … [Read More]

Tastes Like War

A Korean American daughter’s exploration of food and family history, in order to understand her mother’s schizophrenia. Grace M. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where … [Read More]

Communicating Food in Korea

From the publisher’s website: An in-depth investigation of the complex relationships among food, culture, and society, Communicating Food in Korea features contributors from a variety of disciplines, including economics, political science, communication studies, nutrition research, tourism research, and more. Each chapter presents a unique interpretation of food’s economic, political, and sociocultural relevance. Situated in Korea’s shifting historical … [Read More]

Soju: A Global History

From the publisher’s website: Hyunhee Park offers the first global historical study of soju, the distinctive distilled drink of Korea. Searching for soju’s origins, Park leads us into the vast, complex world of premodern Eurasia. She demonstrates how the Mongol conquests of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries wove together hemispheric flows of trade, empire, scientific … [Read More]

Korean Food Television and the Korean Nation

From the publisher’s website: This book examines the historical development of Korean food TV and its articulation of Koreanness in the era of globalization. Jaehyeon Jeong defines the evolution of Korean food TV as an outcome of the conjuncture between the television industry’s structural changes, the shift in food’s landscape and cultural legitimacy, and various … [Read More]