Multimedia Artist UZU’s Exhibition Showcases Insect Powders At The Dongdaemun Design Plaza
UZU, a multimedia artist, will be hosting an exhibit at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul until Nov. 29 showcasing insect powders and dried insects as part of the "Curiosity Cabinet" food art project, reported Korea Herald.
"I wanted to show that even something people think of as disgusting and unpleasant can be changed," said UZU.
"That's flour mixed with dried and ground insect," pointed UZU to a box of white powder. "But because it looks pleasant, people aren't disgusted. It's all a matter of perception."
"I wanted to imagine what the food of the future would look like," added UZU.
Like North America, Latin America and Europe, South Korea is also gradually welcoming the creepy crawlers on their dinner tables as edible ingredients.
A restaurant in Seoul known as Papillon's Kitchen is reportedly serving various dishes incorporated with insects, including bread, soup and pasta. Several bakeries have also been observed to add ground insects on their cakes and cookies, while farms are also starting to breed crickets, beetles and mealworms for cooking.
According to Korea Times on Dec. 12, 2014, the government hosted an insect-cooking competition last November in efforts to boost the insect industry in order for farms to find new avenues for profit-making.
Some of the recipes that were submitted in the competition included sweet pumpkin porridge with dried crickets, grasshopper croquettes with mealworm coffee sherbet and beetle powder-crusted fried chicken.
"The insect industry had mainly focused on academic purposes or raising them (insects) as pets," said researcher at the Rural Development Administration Yun Eun Young. "But now, they are considered an important resource for future food supply."
However, not all South Koreans are comfortable with the idea of munching down insects however the preparation.
"I wouldn't necessarily try it," said Jeon Euri, a Seoul resident. "I would if I was forced to take it as medicine, but otherwise, I feel disgusted by the notion (of eating insects)."
