75 years ago, on June 25th, 1950, the Korean War began. The fighting between the northern Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the southern Republic of Korea raged on for 3 years. During the devastation and food shortages that followed, Koreans created a dish that would come to symbolize resilience and creativity: budae jjigae. This popular dish represents the exact idea of Politics for Dinner: finding common ground in conflict. Because of my own Korean roots, I want to take a closer look at this dish to see how it tells a story of Korean culture. Often considered the first proxy war of the Cold War era, there was a…

As part of my continuing research on dishes and their relation to political events in history, I have decided to take a closer look at a dish that is not only part of my Korean heritage but also one that I love. I was inspired to create this after watching Naengmyeon Rhapsody, an amazing show on Netflix that explores the history of Korean cold noodles and how various historical events have shaped the dish’s evolution. So, I’d like to welcome you to a new section of the blog: The Budae Jjigae Chronicles. Budae Jjigae is a spicy Korean stew—budae refers to “military camp,” calling back to its origins during the…