Colonial Modernity and the Social History of Chemical Seasoning in Korea

Ajinomoto, an artificial food ingredient, was a symbolic commodity of modernity in colonial Korea, which created an image of new and exotic taste and built an empire of taste all over East Asia and the west coast of America. Ajinomotos marketing strategy emphasized taste, economy, and science. While appropriating traditional authority, they also connected the modernization of dietary life with the consumption of Ajinomoto.Ajinomoto transformed not only the taste of food and the palates of people but also peoples attitudes toward food. This can be seen as the invention and maximization of desire for modern tastes. This invented taste and desire functioned as the deep structure of the artificial food ingredient market competition during Koreas modernization period.Miwon, a Korean chemical food company, recreated and dominated this market, which shrunk after the 1950s, by using the marketing strategy of alluding to Ajinomoto. Mipung, the next comer, adopted a strategy of direct imitation and borrowing of colonial memories and technology-oriented advertisement in order to re-divide and obtain market share. However, Miwon succeeded in staying in first place in the market by reconstructing their image as a national company pitted against a pro-Japanese company.This study illustrates how the dualism and complexity of colonial modernity functioned in the embodied world of taste. The successful strategy of drawing upon colonial memories while maintaining a certain distance shows the complex relations between modernity, colonialism and nationalism.

keywords: empire of taste, chemical flavor, implication, copying, borrowing, embodiment, colonial modernity., empire of taste, chemical flavor, implication, copying, borrowing, embodiment, colonial modernity.

Reference

(1951) 味の素沿革史 History of Ajinomoto,

(1971) Company History of Ajinomoto,

(1989) 80 Years History of Ajinomoto,

(1995) 100 Years of Korean Design,

(1997) Formations of Colonial Modernity in East Asia, Durham: Duke University Press

(2001) Becoming “Japanese”: Colonial Taiwan and the Politics of Identity Formation, Berkeley: University of California Press

(1996) Korean Federation of Advertising Associations, Seoul: Korea Federation of Advertising Associations

(1995) Advertising in Korea,

(1996) Singminjijeok geundae-wa sinche-ui jeongchi (Colonial Modernity and Politics of Body),

10.

(1991) Social History of Advertisement 2,

11.

(1995) Past and Present of Advertisement Media Advertisement in Korea edited by the Korean Advertisement Association,

12.

(1993) Forty Years of CJ Corporation,

13.

(1997) Geundae juche-wa singminji gyuyul gwollyeok (Modern Subject and Colonial Disciplinary Power), Seoul: Munhak Gwahaksa

14.

(1998) Broadcasting in Korea, 1924-1937: Colonial Modernity and Cultural Hegemony In Japan’s Competing Modernities: Issues in Culture and Democracy 1900-1930, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press

15.

(1999) Colonial Modernity in Korea, Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center

16.

(1986) History of Korean Advertisement,

17.

(1993) Advertisements in Japan,

18.

(1976) History of the Development of Advertising in Japan,

19.

(1995) Systematic Examination of Research Related to Advertisements Advertisements in Korea edited by the Korean Advertisement Association,

20.

(2001) Ilje sidae gwanggo-wa jegukjuui--1920-1945 nyeon-kkaji juyo ilganji-wa japji-reul jungsim-euro (Advertising and Imperialism in the Era of Japanese Colonialism: Centering on Major Newspapers and Magazines),

21.

(1983) Manufacturing Technology and Knowledge of Chemical Seasoning,

22.

(1995) A Study of Expressive Aspects of Modern Printed Advertisements Advertisements in Korea edited by the Korean Advertisement Association,

바로가기메뉴

Article Contents

Vol.45 No.2

Colonial Modernity and the Social History of Chemical Seasoning in Korea

Abstract

Reference

Korea Journal