JB Life Summer Vol. 3

INTERVIEW
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Food Blogger Mark Wiens
Dishes on Jeonbuk Food
By ANJEE DISANTO, Jeonbuk Life Co-Editor
“Some people like to eat, but you LOVE to eat. No, no – that’s an understatement.
You’re obsessed. You’re addicted to food. You’re thinking about
what you want to eat for dinner when you’re eating a delicious lunch. Don’t
worry – I do that, too.”
traditional Hanok Village area. But in Wiens’ opinion, this is
perhaps not where the lines belong.
“You know, in my opinion, the real Korean food experience
is not the street food,” Wiens said. “But it’s the restaurants
where you sit at the table and you’re served all the bancheon
sides dishes. The hanjeongshik. The street food is kind of
modern, and I’m not huge on it, but I am huge on the bancheon
and the sit-down side dishes. I think that’s where the real experience
is.”
But as for the top highlight of his culinary adventures here,
Wiens is very much in sync with the thoughts of many frequent
food tourists. His top choice?
Makkeoli.
“Oh, the makkeoli was pretty awesome,” Wiens explained
about the classic rice wine and spread. “That’s a world-class
Korean culinary experience. That was impressive. It’s probably
one of the best, just for everything involved, the total experience.”
Wiens’ upcoming videos on Migrationology.com are sure to
give more detailed tips and reviews on enjoying Jeonbuk food,
but in the meantime, he also offered a few food tips for local
foodies traveling abroad. For one thing, in terms of picking
where to eat, Wiens seems to be a fan of going global but eating
local, and perhaps off the beaten path at that.
“I try to highly avoid touristy restaurants, so I try to research
in that language or go to websites or blogs, forums, that are in
the local languages,” Wiens explained. “My biggest way now
that I have somewhat of a following is to reach out to followers
that are from that place and ask them where to go, by social
media. And then finally, just straight up walking around. It
works extremely well when sometimes you can just feel it,
when you go and you see a line of people. I just like to explore
anything local especially.”
And if wondering where to travel for food, Wiens offered
up his top three spots outside of Korea, though it was understandably
hard to choose: India, Mexico, and Thailand. As
someone based in Thailand, he particularly recommends going
“off book” and trying out more than just the most popular 10
or so dishes in that (or any) country. He even recommended a
Thai rice salad that carries a similar spirit to Jeonju’s beloved
This true-to-life monologue starts the top video on food blogger Mark Wien’s popular You-
bibimbap.
Tube channel, Migrationology. With nearly 400,000 followers and counting, the Bangkok-based
“It’s a similar mix of rice and toppings and ingredients,
channel and accompanying website (migrationology.com) are mediums through which Wiens
without being fried rice,” he describes. “It’s called khao yam,
communicates to viewers that, indeed, “Food is the reason you should travel.”
but it’s a completely different flavor because it’s topped with
“Food has always been a passion of mine, ever since I was a kid,” Wiens explains, “and also
toasted coconut, bean sprouts, and Kaffir lime leaves, so it’s
eating and learning about food to learn about people and cultures. I started traveling and blogging,
even about things I wasn’t interested in. But then I decided, I’m going to go ahead and
With dozens of cities under his belt for global culinary ex-
like an herbal bibimbap or a tropical bibimbap.”
focus in on a niche that I’m interested in – food and travel. It’s one of the best reasons to travel.”
ploration, Wiens’ and his website and channel have lots more
With Jeonbuk province widely known as the food capital of Korea, such a sentiment is not a
tips to offer for travel and tasting. Check out migrationology.com
or search for “migrationology” on YouTube to check
hard sell here. It’s also no surprise that Wiens’ culinary adventures brought him to the area, or
that he had much to say about the region’s cuisine. Partially sponsored by the Jeonbuk Center
him out, and be sure keep an eye out for his postings of Jeonbuk-themed
videos starting this July.
for International Affairs, Wiens spent several weeks in North Jeolla in April, videoing daily for a
series of Jeonbuk-themed food and travel videos that will hit his channel this July.
And the food here? As you might imagine, even for a culinary connoisseur, it didn’t disappoint.
“There have been a lot of great foods!” Wiens affirmed. “And definitely some stand-out meals.
What I’ve noticed is there’s such an extreme diversity just in this little province. You have access
to the sea, and to the mountains, and so one day we had just the most insane seafood feast of
all, random exotic things from the sea. I think it was in Gunsan. Then the next day we were in
Jangsu for top-quality beef, so that’s something I’ve loved – the diversity of the ingredients you
could get.”
Wiens’ opinions largely echo and reaffirm the tastes of the myriad travelers who’ve come before,
but with some exceptions. The Korea Tourism Organization recently found via survey that
street food was one of the top experiences that visitors wanted to have in Korea. And any visitor
to Jeonju is well aware of the lines and apparent popularity of street delicacies, particularly in the
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