Food in the Making of Modern Korea

This handbook offers an updated and comprehensive presentation of knowledge on Korean modern and contemporary food history. It covers the changes in food availability, nutrition, and the health status of Koreans, and the Korean food industry's development from the late period of Joseon dynasty in the mid-19th century, to the present. This period includes the severe poverty and food shortage of the Joseon dynasty, followed by the Japanese invasion, Independence and the South-North division, the Korean war, and rapid industrial development. The influence of national and international environments and political changes during the last 150 years on the Korean food security and the nutritional situation of the people is demarcated. In doing so, the author makes novel suggestions on possible contributions to alleviate the world food crisis in the future. Relevant to food historians and food scientists, and East Asian studies scholars with a particular interest in Korean culture and history, this is a pioneering work that elucidates the driving forces for the development and betterment of Korean society-through food acquisition.

Emeritus Professor Cherl-Ho Lee has been teaching food engineering and food preservation at Korea University since 1979. He graduated from Korea University, Department of Agricultural Chemistry, and served in the Korean Army as an ROTC artillery officer (1967-1969). He received his Ph.D. at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Denmark (1975) and was postdoctoral research associate at MIT, Cambridge, USA (1975-1979). He was Project Coordinator of the Fish Fermentation Technology Network of United Nations University (1985-1987) and Project Director of Industrialization of Lactic Acid Fermentation Technology of Cereals and Its Dissemination to the Developing Countries for UNIDO (1987-1992), and has conducted the International Course for Food Fermentation Technology at Korea University (1991-1992). He has published over 250 research papers and 30 books in food science and technology and food security.

Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 Food Situation in the Social Changes of the Late Period of Joseon.- Chapter 3 Japanese Extortion and the Korean Food and Nutritional Status during Japanese Occupation in Korea.- Chapter 4 The establishment of the Korean government and the food situation during the Korean War.