22nd Newsletter

Hi there

This is your A.thentic Jong Hee. 

And it is my 22nd Newsletter for you.

How are you today? Hope everything is fine with you. 

Here in Korea, the season has finally settled into fall, with temperatures ranging between 22-26 degrees.

As you might know, September 17th was Chuseok, the biggest holiday, and we had a full moon in the night sky. According to the lunar calendar (Headache? 😊) , Chuseok falls on the 15th day of the 8th month, which is a full moon night. People celebrate the abundance of the rice fields under the full moon, a tradition that started over a thousand years ago.

And the season of Chuseok should be Fall season, but this year, we had a crazy ‘hot’ day, having the temperature, 33~34 degrees. It was really sultry and hot, but now the temp is perfect for enjoying the cooler, seasonal moment. 

Soon we will see autumn leaves everywhere here. (Will I enjoy the scenery or feel depressed when I see them? Maybe the both..) 

Anyway, in this newsletter, I’ll talk about the ‘soul food’ I mentioned in the last issue. 

As for the pictures of my hometown—the backdrop of the love story between Hyun and Jisoo—I’ll share the explanation about those spots in the next newsletter. 

Sorry for the delay, but I’ve decided to hold off because I think you’ll be able to focus better on the story itself if I share that content closer to the release of the next chapter and music. 

And some of you were confused when I used the term ‘soul food’ in my post and newsletter, so I feel it’s better to clarify that first.

- Soul Food / Comfort Food -  

First of all, this is a disclaimer: I’m a musician, not a food critic or sociologist who can precisely define what soul food or comfort food means to people. 

I can only talk about it from the perspective of Korean people, which is why I’m only sharing Korean food, or food that Korean people enjoy. I can’t categorize it globally. No. Pizza and hamburgers aren’t originally Korean, but we enjoy them here. 

However, I can’t speak for how other countries view food. So, I’ll share the idea of how we, as Koreans, think about it and list the foods that we love and consider to be soul or comfort food.

- Definition 

I researched the terms 'Soul food' and 'Comfort food' a bit, as well as their origins.

To conclude in advance, there is a subtle distinction between them, which leads to a mixed definition.

The origin of soul food is from ‘Southern African American cuisine’; 

"Soul food" refers to a traditional cuisine that originated in the Southern United States, particularly in African American communities. It includes hearty, comfort foods such as fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. 

The term "soul food" gained popularity during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and reflects a deep connection to African American heritage, culture, and the history of resilience. Soul food is often rich, flavorful, and made with simple ingredients, reflecting its origins in times when African Americans had limited access to resources. It's more than just food—it's a celebration of family, culture, and tradition. 

And Comfort food is ; 

Comfort food refers to dishes that provide a nostalgic or sentimental value, often associated with home cooking and feelings of warmth and safety. These foods are typically rich, hearty, and satisfying, offering emotional comfort during stressful times.

So, like Korean people, comfort food is mostly like ‘guilty’ food, like pizza, hamburgers, Tteokboggi, or other sweet things. But if you eat healthy food and feel comforted, that food can also be your comfort food too. 

And which is the bigger category? Soul food is a subcategory of comfort food, characterized by its rich flavors and cultural significance. While all soul food can be considered comfort food, not all comfort food fits into the soul food category.

And also “soul food” has a nostalgic vibe of family connection, just like the warmth of a mother's cooking.

Let me say again, this is certainly open to debate, and all views on food are based on individual subjective preferences.

To write a more in-depth report on this, it would require thesis-level research, verification, and gathering of diverse opinions. But I’m a musician and don’t have the time for that. Plus, the focus of my argument is to convey what 'Korean people think' about it.

- Korean people’s ideas – 

So, there’s nothing to do with ‘health’ issue for soul food and comfort in my understanding. And we Korean people don’t associate soul food or comfort food with being healthy either. 

And here is the tricky one: Many Koreans don’t use the term, ‘comfort food’, but we do have words like ‘Gansik’(간식), or ‘GoonGeokjil’(군것질), meaning ‘snack’. However, while we rarely use 'comfort food,' the term 'soul food' is used quite often.

The term "soul food" in Korean has evolved to mean "food that is so impressive it resonates with the soul, evoking childhood memories and life's joys and sorrows," possibly due to the meaning of the word "soul." 

So, the food can be healthy or unhealthy; it doesn’t matter as long as it comforts you. That’s how I used the terminology for the food list I shared you in my previous newsletter. 

Now let me show you a list of the best soul food for Korean people.

1. During the Covid period 

The city of Seoul conducted a survey asking 10,000 people in Korea what the best soul food is to provide comfort during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

No 3. Kimchi Jigye (김치찌개) 

No 2. Chicken (People loooove the chicken. Mostly friend chicken. Koreans love chickens with Beer, we call it ‘Chi maeck’ (meack means beer🍺). 

Remember I posted about relaxing with a beer, a night movie, and sandwiches in bed? Well, there's another way I like to relax: chicken with beer. But that time, I didn’t have the beer.

So what do you think is the no.1 food to Korean people?

.

.

No 1.Tteokboggi.(떡볶이). Yes, it’s the No1. Amazing, right?💓

I told you. People still loooove this..!! 

About the picture I once posted before on Instagram, I asked what food Korean teens are eating or waiting to eat, and the answer is tteokboggi, of course. 

Here are the pictures. 

2. A list in 2024. 

A newspaper here conducted a survey from March 22 to April 5, 2024, asking 17,777 people aged 13 and older across the country about their favorite Korean food. The results are as follows:

No.1 KimChi Jigye (김치찌개)

No.2 Bulgogi (불고기)

No.3 Deonjang Jiye (된장찌개)

No.4 Kimchi (김치)

No.5 Bibimbap (비빔밥) 

At this time, the newspaper referred to those foods as 'soul food' in their article. This reflects the concept of soul food among Koreans.  

Just like that, I roughly categorize soul food in a Korean way of thinking. I hope this helps you. 

Oh, one more thing. I want to tell my subscribers the reason I suddenly moved my music studio (and yes, I moved it in the middle of a rainy night). 

The truth is, I had been working on my music in the apartment where I currently live. Most bedroom producers work from home, especially after I moved from Seoul to Busan.

However, since I live in an apartment, there's the issue of noise between floors (most Koreans live in apartments). Before moving into this apartment, I once rented an entire second floor of a standalone house. Nobody lived above me, but there was another problem—cigarette smoke. Smoke from the neighbors who were smoking in their yards would drift into my home, and I absolutely despise cigarette smoke. 

I even avoid people who smoke because the smell lingers on them. Anyway, the noise from the upstairs neighbors has been interfering with my work a little, so I decided to rent a separate studio to focus on my music. But now, the lease on my apartment is expiring, and I have to move. (Honestly, I’ve been wanting to leave this place a lot!)

The new apartment I'm moving to is actually closer to Haeundae Beach, more modern, and quieter. Of course, I'll only know about the noise between floors once I live there. 

But although I’ll be closer to the beach, I’ll be farther from my studio, which isn’t practical in terms of time efficiency, so I decided to move out of the studio. 

For the time being, I’ll work from home after I move, becoming a true bedroom producer. 

When I need to use a professional studio, I’ll go there to record, mix, etc. And the moving day is next week! So, as you can imagine, I’ve been insanely busy lately. 

But despite all of this, I’m proud to have completed a new lo-fi single album set to release on September 30th. I'll leave a link to my artist profile, so please follow me in advance, and you'll receive a notification as soon as the music is released. 

My Spotify Artist page :

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7l0I0kuaVN66wuF6xee5O6?si=M_xdXN_5ROidiLcL-38NmQ

My Youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@a.jonghee

The title of My new single is “Slight Dizziness” (Lo-fi Instrumental).

Okay. That’s all for now.😊

Thank you for reading. 🌹

I’ll see you in the next newsletter. 

Have a nice weekend and a nice week. 

Best Regards 

A.thentic Jong Hee