This book breaks new ground by analyzing the semantic and ideological roles of food television within a context of nationalism. Uniquely connecting Korean food, media, and socio-cultural identities, it aptly presents innovative and distinctive interpretations of the politics of food. Jeong prepares the readers to better comprehend the growing popularity of food media that surrounds them on a daily basis. His rich and empirical approaches provide new insights on the interplay of Korean food, media, and culture, which has rapidly become part of global scenes in the early 21st century.

Kyong Yoon Yong Jin, Professor, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University

This is without a doubt, one of the best contributions to the scholarship on Korean cuisine I have had a chance to read so far. The narrative is very well situated in the country’s shifting socio-economic context, and the richness of empirical data is astonishing. The rise of food as a major component of televised entertainment is merely an entry point for exploring manifold developments that are critical for our understanding of contemporary Korean society. Jaehyeon Jeong tells a story that will be of interest to an audience far broader than scholars of food or television.

Katarzyna J. Cwiertka, Leiden University