Examples of incorrect Korean food menus highlighted in the Korean Cultural Center in Germany's Korean Food Awareness campaign include amusing but misguided translations. For instance, "kimchi jjim" (kimchi stew) has been mistranslated as "Kimchi wishlist" due to a misunderstanding of "jjim" as meaning "to wish for something." Similarly, "kimchi jjigae" (kimchi stew) has been rendered as the puzzling "Kimchi G.
Gay." Courtesy of the Korean Cultural Center in Germany By KTimes As the global popularity of Korean food has surged, so has the number of Korean restaurants worldwide, with over 100 in Berlin alone, according to the Korean Cultural Center in Germany. Including restaurants that list Korean dishes as supplementary options, the number is even higher.
In the early 2000s, only about 10 Korean restaurants existed in Berlin, highlighting the rapid growth of the cuisine's presence. However, this quantitative growth has brought its challenges. With some restaurateurs lacking proper knowledge of Korean cuisine, restaurants like these have begun serving "dubiously authentic" Korean dishes or inaccurately labeled menus.
A popular Korean restaurant located in Berlin has garnered over 1,300 reviews on Google, one of the world's largest search engines. Yet, some of its dishes aren't authentic Korean food. When ordering a Korean rice cake, which generally means "tteok," diners are served a dish that resembles tteokbokki (a dish of chewy rice cakes simmered in fiery chili paste gochuja.