About ZenKimchi

Joe McPherson founded ZenKimchi in 2004. He has been featured and sourced in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, CNN, KBS, MBC, SBS, Le Figaro, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Harper’s Bazaar Korea, The Chosun Weekly, and other Korean and international media. He has consulted for The Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,” Lonely Planet, and the PBS documentary series “Kimchi Chronicles.”

Mr. McPherson has written for multiple Korean and international publications, including SEOUL Magazine, JoongAng Daily, The Korea Herald, Newsweek Korea and wrote the feature article for U.S. National publication Plate magazine’s all-Korean food issue. He acts as dining editor for 10 Magazine and is on the judging panel for Korea for the Miele Guide. He has recently finished writing a book on Korean food globalization that will be published in 2012.

He spoke at TEDx Seoul on Korean food globalization, at TED Worldwide Talent Search on the rise of Korean cuisine, and in New York City on Korean Buddhist temple cuisine. The company ZenKimchi International organizes food tours for tourists and corporations and acts as a media liaison for foreign and Korean media and local restaurants and producers.

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Here are my most recent posts

Banchan: Hansik’s Dead, Jim

May 20, 13 Banchan: Hansik’s Dead, Jim

Posted by in Featured, News & Media

The doctor has officially pronounced it. The government’s Korean food globalization campaign was an expensive failure.  Well, maybe not a total failure. It did enrich the pockets of a lot of charlatans with government connections (we weren’t one of them, DARN those sour grapes!). I remember people calling us out on the...

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Myth: Choco Pies were Invented in Korea

May 14, 13 Myth: Choco Pies were Invented in Korea

Posted by in Commentary, Featured, Junk Food & Treats

Everyone’s crazy about Choco Pies in Korea. Even North Koreans are. There is a lot of pride taken in this confectionery. It’s assumed in Korea that the Orion company invented this type of treat. That’s why articles like this irk me.

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Philippines, Day 2: Nailing Jesus

May 08, 13 Philippines, Day 2: Nailing Jesus

Posted by in Featured, Nothing to do with Korea

Friday, March 29 2013 I was the first to wake up by a long shot. Around 6:00. I found some instant coffee and went outside.   We’re facing the water. I watched the stillness while children played in the background. The accommodations are a bit Spartan, but not too rough. Because of Holy Week, there weren’t many rooms to book....

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Nosh of the Day: Poop Bread

Apr 25, 13 Nosh of the Day: Poop Bread

Posted by in Featured, Junk Food & Treats, Street Food

Was giving an all-day private tour yesterday. One of the things we had was Insa-dong’s Ddong Bbang (“Poop Bread”). It’s a lot like IngeoBbang/BungeoBbang (the fish-shaped pastries). It’s a pancake batter cooked in a mold and filled with red beans. Just shaped like a pile of dog poop. The first time I...

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Philippines, Day 1: Getting There

Apr 19, 13 Philippines, Day 1: Getting There

Posted by in Featured

The Filipino Department of Tourism invited Korean bloggers for a tour of the Philippines. The goal was to highlight areas that were under the radar of tourists and to check out attractions that were being developed. This is my diary of that trip. Day 1: Getting There For the flight to the Philippines, we had to meet at Incheon...

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Video: Bluefish

Apr 18, 13 Video: Bluefish

Posted by in Featured, Restaurants, Video

Hwe. Korean sashimi. It’s not just a way to prepare raw fish. It’s a dance of courses and flavors using every part of the fish.

Bluefish pushes to make it a more ethereal experience.

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We have a Winner

Mar 31, 13 We have a Winner

Posted by in Featured, March Mayhem

For the second time in a row, Galbi has won ZenKimchi’s Korean Food March Mayhem. It went up against Jeyuk Bokkeum, which had gone much further than it had ever gone. But it was no match against top seed Galbi, which won with 83.3% of the vote. Here are this year’s rankings. Champion: Galbi Runner Up: Jeyuk Bokkeu Third...

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Shh! Secret Sushi Find…

Mar 14, 13 Shh! Secret Sushi Find…

Posted by in Restaurants

This was the best sushi experience I ever had. It looked like “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”

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Food Crime: VIPS’ British Promotion

Mar 11, 13 Food Crime: VIPS’ British Promotion

Posted by in Featured, WTF

VIPS (pronounced, um, vips) is Korea’s version of Sizzler. It’s a chain steakhouse run by CJ Foodville that has been around since 1997. When I first came to Korea in 2004, it and Outback were the only places to get steak, really. Back then Outback was even better. But over the years Outback really slid in quality while...

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Grilled Intestines in Gangnam

Feb 27, 13 Grilled Intestines in Gangnam

Posted by in Featured, Restaurants, Uncategorized, Video

The fine folks at Yeontabal 연타발 invited me over for a night of some lovely beef intestines and heart. I’m usually skeptical of a lot of upscale Korean restaurants because they usually think fine dining is just a bunch of fussy pretension, high prices, and bland food. Not so at Yeontabal! They’re pricey, but that was a...

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