The GW Institute for Korean Studies and IU Institute for Korean Studies are thrilled to announce this year’s video essay contest on the theme of K-Food: Globalization and Cultural Identity.
Deadline: March 8, 2024
Korea has made a concerted effort to promote Korean cuisine to the international community. Starting with the serving of kimchi in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Kim Young Sam’s globalization efforts, First Lady Kim Yoon-ok’s international kimchi-making demonstrations, kimjang (tradition of making kimchi) being inscribed as the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013, Michelle Obama sharing her recipe for kimchi, and of course the myriad representations of K-Food in Korean dramas, music, mukbang, films, documentaries, and reality tv shows. Once seen as an exotic and pungent ethnic food has now become a recognizable and desirable international cuisine.
For this year’s video essay contest, students will explore the ways in which K-Food has found its place and continues to carve a space in the saturated and competitive global/virtual market of international gastronomy. Students can choose any medium (literature, documentary, film, drama, reality tv shows, etc.) of their choice that represents the globalization and cultural identity of K-Food. Below are examples of (but not limited to) the various approaches to this project:
- Dramas such as Jewel in the Palace, Itaewon Class, Coffee Prince, etc.
- Reality TV Shows such as Chef and My Fridge
- Documentaries such as Chef’s Table
- YouTube channels and mukbangs such as Korean Englishman
Students can also approach this project through other means such as:
- History and evolution of coffee/coffee shops in Korea
- History and globalization of Paris Baguette
- Expansion of the brands CJ and Bibigo
- International cuisines in Korea such as Italian, American, Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, India, Vietnamese, etc.
- Korean American celebrity chefs such as Roy Choi, Anne Kim, David Chang
- Korean cuisine researcher such as Baek Jong-won, Maangchi
Video Essay Requirements:
- 5-7 mins video presentation
- Critical analysis (historical, social, political, or cultural) of K-Food
Eligibility:
This contest is jointly run between the George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies and the Institute for Korean Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. GW/IU will each select three winners, with first prize receiving $500, second prize receiving, $300 and third prize, receiving $100.
For GW: The contest is open to undergraduate students who are enrolled in colleges or universities in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area [District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia] during the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters. Students from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia are also eligible to participate.
Video Essay Submission Guidelines:
- Students participating through GW will submit their video to following link: https://go.gwu.edu/kfoodvideoupload
- Files should be labeled as “Last Name, First Name_Video Title”
- After uploading the video, students should fill out our 2023-24 Korean Video Essay Contest Application through the following link: https://go.gwu.edu/kfoodvideoapplication
Judging Criteria:
- Videos will be judged on your critical analysis of food based on its relation to globalization, cultural identity, and social/historical/political contexts
- Videos will be judged on the depth of research and poignant argument
- Videos will be judged on creative storytelling and creative editing (cuts, music, graphics, etc.)
If you have any questions about the project, please contact:
GWIKS Email: gwiks@gwu.edu
