Food

Joseon cuisine has been described as one of the world’s healthiest and is quite unique in that in its later years it was heavily influenced by the Donguibogam (The principles and practices of Eastern medicine) a compilation of 240 medical encyclopaedias put together by Heo Jun, (1539-1615, the royal physician to King Seonjo. (R.1567-1608)) in 1613. It makes ample use of vegetables and grains, with relatively little fruit, very little meat, and virtually no dairy. Much effort appears to have been put into wasting as little as possible. Rice was by the staple crop, and commonly eaten with all meals, usually with a soup or stew. The Joseon Dynasty was quite unique in that they had another staple food as well: kimchi. (A spiced, fermented vegetable preserve usually made with cabbage or cucumbers which was very widely popular and eaten by all members of society) Cooking methods were quite varied and included: boiling, deep-frying, grilling, pan-frying, par-boiling, steaming, and stir-frying, among others. Side dishes were very common (3-12 with the average meal) and eaten by all citizens, their social class and wealth determining the number and variety they had. People ate together using chopsticks and spoons, but had their own separate small tables, and talking during a meal was considered rude. The royal family held banquets which could sometimes take months to plan and were very fancy occasions.

The following chart outlines a few types of food eaten in the Joseon Dynasty

Commonly Eaten Foods in the Joseon Dynasty
Grains	Fruit and vegetables	Meat and alternatives	Spices and seasonings
.Barley .Buckwheat .Millet .Rice .Sesame	.Apples .Bamboo shoots .Berries .Bok Choy .Carrots .Chicory .Chinese cabbage .Chinese peppers .Cucumbers .Garlic .Jujubes (Korean dates) .Lettuce .Onions .Pears .Perilla (leafy green) .Persimmons (like apples, but become very tart when overripe) .Radishes .Red hot peppers .Seaweed (various types) .Sesame (leafy green) .Spinach .Turnip .Wild-greens (Chinese bellflowers, chwinamul, (aster scaber) Gosari, (Bracken Ferns) others) .Zucchini	.Abalones (a kind of shellfish) .Acorns .Beans .Bean sprouts .Beef (least common meat eaten) .Chestnuts .Chicken .Clams .Crab .Dog .Eggs .Fish (anchovy, flounder, salmon, ray fish, tuna, others) (most common meat eaten) .Ginkgo nuts .Insects (silkworms, others) .Mung beans .Mushrooms .Octopus .Oysters .Pine nuts .Pork .Red beans .Shrimp .Snake .Soybeans .Squid .Walnuts	.Bean paste (fermented and unfermented) .Chives .Cinnamon .Cockscomb .Fermented seafood .Garlic .Ginger .Ginsing .Green onions .Honey .Kimchi (when used as a condiment) .Mustard .Mustard leaf .Parsley .Red pepper paste .Rice vinegar .Rice wine .Salt .Seaweed .Sesame oil .Sesame seeds .Soy bean sauce .Sugar (not as common as honey) .Tea .Water dropwort

Preserving food was considered very important in the Joseon Dynasty because with the numerous wars and famines the land was subjected to over the centuries; people never knew whether they would be able to reap another harvest before their food supplies ran out, and so it was considered important to make what was available last as long as possible. The most famous example of which definitely being kimchi. This famous fermented food of which there were about 9 main varieties and numerous sub-varieties, was well complimented with a whole host of other preserves, including: fermented seafood, buguk, (dried vegetables and seaweed) po, (jerky made from beef or fish) and twigak. (deep-fried seaweed or perilla leaves with vegetable stems)