Story of Gangneung Food
Gangneung's Food Tradition
Gangneung's food culture was born in its unique ecological environment.
Wild edible greens and mushrooms harvested from mountains and valleys, seaweed and seafood collected and caught from lakes, rivers, and oceans, as well as various grains and vegetables from small but rich rice paddies and fields, produce a variety of foods in Gangneung. As a mountainous area where grains were scarce in the past, it had used wild herbs, potatoes, buckwheat, and corn, among others, to develop "roughage food," such as wild greens, Ongshimi, potato pancakes, and buckwheat pancakes, as unique local foods.
On the other side, the wealthy elite favored gastronomic customs, including Korean traditional sweets and tea ceremonies as well as Confucian ceremonial cuisine.
Gangneung foods are evolving creatively to keep up with the time change.
"Roughage foods," which relied on hardy plants, are evolving into "healthy foods", and Gangneung’s distinctive ingredients and recipes have expanded beyond traditional Korean cuisine and are now employed in new dishes through joining different culinary cultures around the world.