In reality, most of it boils down to the simple desire to survive & usually it means eating whatever is immediately available to a person (or society). There was a time when very little was wasted, especially with regard to animals & the various 'edible' parts which could offer the necessary sustenance & fuel to get a person through a hard day of laboring.
Unlike in the States, where food options are not only plentiful but we seem to have become rather lethargic in our desire to stray from the staple food (i.e. pasta, pizza, various meats, fast food/restaurant fare, tex-mex, etc). My experience in other parts of the world boils down to people eating what is readily available & not lethal....although it has been pointed out to me that during some of the very lean years throughout the Korean peninsula people would make their way to the mountains in search of anything sufficient in order to fill their bellies.
At times, Koreans would devour grasses, weeds, roots, tree bark and the like. Most of it was adequate enough to stave off the 'spring hunger;' a result of fairly brutal winters leading to a significant reduction in available rice & pork during the spring months before food supplies increased. Basically, two meals/day consisting of the various wild roots, grasses & tree bark. Surprisingly, death from starvation has remained relatively low over the history of the Korean people. Yet, for the unfortunate few who were so hungry they would eat wild vegetation which ultimately killed them in.
Fortunately, things have improved tremendously over the past few decades & it doesn't appear I'll have to forage for my dinner any time soon. However, the Korean people still seem to stick w/the same diet they've enjoyed for centuries while also delving into some of the more Western delicacies we've come to take for granted in the States - however, it's usually a special treat, as the cost is inordinately higher over here than back home. I make the comparison to the handful of times, as a child, we were provided the opportunity to eat out....usually on a vacation or road trip somewhere, after we'd exhausted our stash of sandwiches, fruits & veggies mom had packed away for the journey.
Aside from the prevalent options we've become accustomed to in the States, Koreans maintain a very healthy perspective on exactly what they are ingesting. There is a certain diligence in their food selection. They point out how good some Western foods are but quickly point out just how unhealthy the processed food is, as well as the high calorie counts, ridiculous amounts of MSG and so on. Their awareness of precisely what they put into their bodies is pretty amazing & even though they do exist, I rarely see any significant number of overweight Koreans of any age. For one, I don't see people gorging themselves until they are so full they have trouble getting up from the table. Their digestion processes are much quicker due to the evolutionary development of a shorter intestine based on centuries of consuming vegetables rather than meats. For instance, I was quite excited when I was told we were going to have pizza. I should have been more keen to the idea of what pizza in Korea might be - it's really a kind of pancake made from dough, eggs & spring onions (the long extension coming up from the bulb).
So much of the diet consists of rice in some capacity, which is definitely doable. The various roots, most of which I'm not even sure what they are, also offer a change of pace, especially depending on how they've been prepared & seasoned.
I've come to realize rice serves an extraordinarily valuable purpose when it comes to getting drunk, too. It seems I've had sojo, makju, makkli, kuemju & I'm sure a few other "-ju's" but it all appears to be the same basic recipe of fermented & distilled rice with the consistency of super skim milk & some rice floaties for good measure. It's really not bad but some of it is much more potent than other batches so ya gotta be careful on consumption.
Probably one of the most unique things are the actual innards of the cow & pig that are gobbled up like it's no big deal. Truthfully, there isn't much of a disgusting taste to any of the innards but it's more getting over the consistency of what you're chomping on....most of it is extremely rubbery & has plenty of texture to it. I liken it to being able to feel taste buds, it's that kind of bumpy & when attempting to swallow it down, all you think of is how 'out of the ordinary' this kind of food is opposed to good old steaks, burgers, pasta, etc.
Utilizing all parts of the animal is commonplace and even parts they don't consider worth eating are simply made into a 'soup.' This seems to be rather customary throughout the world where food isn't necessarily prevalent. I use the term soup rather loosely as it often times tastes much more like dirty dish water or just plain dirty water in general but is piping hot & has some veggies & seasoning (usually onions & hot green peppers) stirred in to try and give it a little more flavor. But quite honestly, there's not a whole lot that can be done to intestine or foot 'soup' to make it a highly desirable offering for a guy like me. Being the good sport, though, I usually always go a round or two with whatever is offered up & I always look at it as having the knowledge & practical experience to be able to eat about anything if I were ever faced w/a truly life & death situation.
I'd have to say the intestines, silk worms, boiled/pressed pig skin, seaweed & various sea life not normally desirable (eyes for instance) have been some of the most bizarre items but there are some really funky plants & roots I've called dinner once or twice, having no idea what they were but enjoying their uniqueness. It's been nice to go through a bit of a whole body cleansing in terms of what I'm actually ingesting but I am so looking forward to wolfing down plenty of mom's strawberry pie, a wide array of corn fed beef, pork & lamb as well as simply kicking back and chomping on a few burrito's or chimichanga's. Were it not closed, I could see myself posted up for a few sessions at O'Malley & McGee's in Ames!
Subjecting oneself to a diet like this for a year is obviously not for everyone but I'm certainly glad I've had the opportunity to immerse myself into something so obviously different than what I've known up to this point in my life! With that, I'm heading to bed, likely having wildly appetizing dreams of Western goodness!
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