손맛

This project captures the essence of son-mat. In Korean culture, food can convey a cook's love and devotion to family. Let's explore what home cooked, authentic Korean food is all about.

An ethnography by abraham kil

손맛

SON-MAT

손맛, son-mat, means "hand taste." In Korean cooking, son-mat represents the love and care that a cook puts into their food, giving it a unique and special flavor.

The word evokes mom's cooking—how her hands transform simple ingredients into nourishing food with a taste no one else can match, caring for her children through her effort and physical touch

Son-mat is not just about technique; it's about the warmth and devotion infused into every dish, creating a connection between the cook and those who eat it. 손맛 embodies the heart of Korean cooking, where each bite expresses love, tradition, and shared moments around the table.

영감

inspiration

Son-mat drives me to enter the hospitality industry. My mother has always prepared all her dishes by hand for me, a sign of not just her detailed approach to cooking but also her bond with her Korean heritage, even after many years in America. In son-mat, you make the food by hand, plate it by hand, and eat it with your hand. Attention is given to each detail, emphasizing its value and the love, care, and effort you are expressing for others. The beauty, selflessness, and uniqueness of this culture truly resonate with me. It is the foundation of the home and everything that I value.

프로세스

The process

My aim was to create a calming and immersive world where son-mat allows the viewer and subjects to enter into a relationship of love and beauty. I constructed a small studio inside my family’s Korean BBQ restaurant. With the help of my parents and the restaurant staff, I prepared multiple traditional Korean dishes–miyeok guk, Korean vegetable pancake, dried fish, and lettuce hand roll. I then created “scenes” in which the food is plated and shared. The two subjects both work in the restaurant. Each wears hanbok, traditional Korean dress. There is a formalism and symmetry to the composition, emphasizing the seriousness and ceremony involved as well as respect for tradition. At the same time, there is also playfulness—the couple smiles as they pass food between their hands, and colorful wax Happy Birthday candles sit atop a piece of miyeok-guk, a seaweed soup that is traditionally prepared and eaten on birthdays.

©2024 Abraham Kil. All rights reserved