{"id":1874,"date":"2025-03-06T10:49:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T09:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/?p=1874"},"modified":"2025-03-06T12:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T11:59:10","slug":"korean-food-through-a-canadian-lens-redefining-authenticity-on-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/2025\/03\/06\/korean-food-through-a-canadian-lens-redefining-authenticity-on-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Korean Food Through a Canadian Lens: Redefining Authenticity on Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Lisa Hetterling<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crack, snap, and crunch. A chef knife loudly cuts through a green head of Napa cabbage without hesitation. Viewers are thrown straight into the action; this is how many of Logan\u2019s TikTok videos start. On a platform where creators have mere seconds to capture the viewers\u2019 attention, this startling tactic has proven to be an effective signature. For anyone like me, who has ever looked for Korean food inspiration in English, encountering one of Logan\u2019s videos seems almost inevitable. Logan Moffitt, known as @logagm on TikTok, @logansfewd on Instagram, and @logaagm on YouTube, has amassed over ten million followers across platforms. With his obsession for cucumbers and many viral recipes to match, he has earned quirky nicknames like \u201cthe most hydrated person on TikTok\u201d and \u201cthe cucumber guy\u201d (Chesanek 2024; Santos 2024). However, by a more specific audience and commenters, he\u2019s affectionately called names like \u201cDaehan Logan.\u201d This clever play on words combines his name with Daehan Minguk<\/em>, the Korean term for South Korea. Such nicknames did not come by him lightly. According to interviews, the 24-year-old from Canada started cooking at around 14, motivated by demanding swim practices and a craving for food not typically found on a traditional Canadian menu (Ganz 2024). Sometimes using recipes, sometimes store-bought, Logan seamlessly incorporated Korean staples into his daily meals over time. With skill and dedication, he prepares traditional Korean dishes like kimchi jjigae<\/em> (a spicy chili and meat stew), mul<\/em>–naengmyeon<\/em> (refreshing, ice-cold buckwheat noodle soup), and many more. While he explores cuisines from other cultures as well, Korean dishes take centre stage in most of his videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A serving of mul-naengmyeon<\/em>
Copyright \u00a9 Makafood 2021, <\/em>https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/close-up-of-a-delicious-meal-in-a-silver-bowl-8995154\/<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Logan\u2019s videos are not just about cooking, they\u2019re a crash course in culinary confidence, especially for a social media content creator. By tackling spice levels that leave his commenters nervously sweating or by casually fermenting his own kimchi, he turns unfamiliar techniques and dishes into something more approachable and intriguing. From breaking down fermentation stages to sharing tips on using various types of kimchi in the right dishes, his content, as his many Korean comments attest, combines \u201cinsider\u201d expertise with an effortless charm. His nonchalant aura and straightforward, unexaggerated approach captivate both Western and Korean audiences. His laid-back demeanour and unbothered reactions are especially notable when addressing critiques of his recipes, the \u201cexotic\u201d ingredients he uses, or cultural differences like him slurping noodles in certain dishes. While slurping might be considered impolite in many Western cultures, in Korea, it\u2019s simply a non-issue. He first gained attention for his homemade kimchi, and a refreshing cucumber kimchi salad, followed more recently by a California roll-inspired cucumber salad. The latter even landed him an interview with The New York Times<\/em>, where he cited Maangchi, a prominent figure among Korean food content creators, as his biggest inspiration (Kim 2024). His recipes, whether traditionally Korean or adapted to his personal taste, consistently incorporate key elements of Korean and East Asian cuisine, such as sesame oil and seeds, soy sauce, aekjeot<\/em> (fish sauce), ssal-sikcho<\/em> (rice wine vinegar), gochujang<\/em> (red pepper paste), and often a generous sprinkle of MSG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A variety of kimchi<\/em>
Copyright \u00a9 Dongwon Lee 2022, <\/em>https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/close-up-of-a-delicious-meal-in-a-silver-bowl-8995154\/<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of Logan\u2019s catchphrases, \u201cMSG, Obviously,\u201d has sparked both amusement and debate (Ganz 2024; Santos 2024). Monosodium glutamate, commonly known under the brand name \u201cMiwon\u201d in Korea, is a staple in many Asian cuisines. The flavour enhancer brings out umami, the savoury flavour that defines dishes like tteokbokki<\/em> (spicy rice cakes), ramyeon<\/em> (instant noodles, and thickens countless Korean soups and stews. While many viewers praised his unapologetic use of MSG, others reacted with disdain or confusion, underscoring lingering stereotypes and misinformation about Asian cooking. Like this, Logan inspires broader conversations about cultural perceptions of food. By normalizing MSG and highlighting its culinary value, he challenges prejudices and encourages audiences to appreciate the nuances of Korean cuisine. Logan\u2019s content goes beyond recipes. His frequent trips to Korea, documented in travel vlog-style videos, showcase the cultural and social connections behind Korean food. From eel fishing on the coast to visiting cucumber and salt farms, sharing drinks over samgyeopsal <\/em>(Korean pork BBQ), his activities highlight the labour, skill, and relationships involved in food production and consumption. These experiences counter the abstraction often seen with East Asian food on social media. Ingredients like live octopus or gopchang<\/em> (grilled intestines), are frequently presented as shocking or extreme, catering to spectacle rather than understanding. Especially spicy foods are framed as exotic novelty or dare-worthy rather than appreciated for their cultural significance. By engaging with these ingredients and dishes authentically, he repositions them as part of a larger narrative, encouraging audiences to move beyond surface-level reactions and trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Logan\u2019s approach also exemplifies the concept of \u201cGlocalization,\u201d coined by sociologist Roland Robertson. Glocalization refers to combination of global and local elements to create something completely new that resonates with diverse audiences (Robertson 1992). Logan\u2019s recipes, like his kimchi margarita, kimchi jam, and blue cheese jjigae<\/em>, are creative adaptations of Korean staples with Western influences. While some of his more adventurous experiments provoke mixed reactions, they also demonstrate how globalization can transform food into a shared cultural experience that transcends national borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chesanek, Carissa. \u201cTikTok\u2019s Viral \u2018Cucumber Guy\u2019 Shares 5 Recipes Featuring His Favorite Vegetable.\u201d RealSimple<\/em>, 26 Aug, 2024. https:\/\/www.realsimple.com\/ways-to-eat-cucumber-logan-moffitt-tiktok-8695826<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ganz, Stephanie. \u201cHow TikTok\u2019s \u2018Cucumber Guy\u2019 Created the Summer\u2019s Best Recipe.\u201d AllRecipes, Aug 22, 2024. https:\/\/www.allrecipes.com\/tiktok-cucumber-guy-logan-moffitt-interview-8699259<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim, Eric. \u201cAsk TikTok\u2019s \u2018Cucumber Boy\u2019 How to Prepare a Cucumber.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, Aug 15, 2024. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/08\/14\/dining\/tiktok-cucumber-guy-logan-moffitt.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robertson, Roland. \u201cGlobalization: Social Theory and Global Culture.\u201d Sage Publications, 1992. Santos, Claudia. \u201cMillions Of People Are Eating An Entire Cucumber In This Viral TikTok Trend, So I Tried It To Find Out If It\u2019s Worth The Hype.\u201d BuzzFeed<\/em>, Sep 9, 2024. https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/claudiasantos\/cucumber-salad-tiktok-recipe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Hetterling is a student in the Master program Global East Asia at Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Lisa Hetterling Crack, snap, and crunch. A chef knife loudly cuts through a green head of Napa cabbage without hesitation. Viewers are thrown straight into the action; this is how many of Logan\u2019s TikTok videos start. On a platform … Weiterlesen →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7641,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7641"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1874"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1878,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions\/1878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/forschungswerkstatt-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}