[Namsan Stroll] In the Age of AI, Let's Cook and Savor Life for Ourselves

The "Age of AI" Behind the Success of Cooking Variety Shows
Resistance to the "Virtual World" Created by AI
A beautiful act that brings our bodies and senses to life

The craze for cooking and chef-themed variety shows shows no sign of cooling. Since Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars" became a phenomenon, interest has soared in the many chefs appearing on shows such as JTBC's revived "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator." It is no exaggeration to say that veteran cast members such as Choi Hyunseok and Kim Poong, along with rising chefs such as Kwon Seongjun, Yoon Namno, and Son Jongwon, have built huge fan bases.

Why is interest in cooking so intense? The success of certain shows may be part of the reason, but perhaps it is also because we are living in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). These days, AI is churning out all kinds of content, from images and videos to text. Wandering amid this dazzling array of content, we can even feel as though we ourselves have become something like virtual characters. It is as if a world made up of smartphones, algorithms, and an endless sea of content is claiming that the virtual world is more real than reality.

But cooking is clearly different from that kind of "virtual" experience. Cooking takes place, after all, in the material world. The sweat and focused eyes of chefs as they prepare a dish; the steam rising from it once it is finished; the aroma that stimulates the senses; and the taste and texture on the tip of the tongue when we take a bite - all of it seems to resist the "age of the virtual."

We may live in an age when AI can create almost anything, but the day when we can smell and taste food through a screen has not yet arrived. Perhaps our enthusiasm for cooking springs from a longing for something we "cannot reach." We may have lost much of this physical world, a world in which we have bodies and senses. Even when the people we love are beside us, we each stare at our smartphones. We live in an age when we are glad if plans are canceled because meeting friends feels like a hassle, and when we prefer to lose ourselves in the world of our phones. Even when a dazzling sunset falls over the Han River beyond the subway window, we cannot take our eyes off the sensational videos on our smartphones. That is life today.

Frying food. Clipart Korea

For several years now, I have been in charge of cooking at home. When I had an office job, I would often get home late in the evening and miss dinner with my wife and child. Since leaving my job, though, I have wanted to try making all kinds of dishes, guided by the motto "Make every dinner something to look forward to." My child says my cooking is the best in the world. I used to know little beyond salt and pepper, but now I use all sorts of ingredients, including truffle oil, anchovy fish sauce, tuna fish sauce, red snow crab soy sauce, chicken stock, and maesil syrup. Every time I cook, I am reminded how precious it is to put the food I have carefully prepared on the tongues of those I love and share laughter, admiration, and time with them. In a sense, cooking is an act of resistance in an age when AI is taking life away from us.

Once, on a variety show I appeared on with writer Kim Poong, I asked him, "How do you make everything taste so good?" His answer was simple: "Just taste it as you cook!" Since then, whenever my wife asks me the same question, I give her the same answer. Just taste it as you cook. Instead of asking AI to make something with a click, use your own senses and experience to adjust the flavor little by little. If you make mistakes, do better next time. If it feels like AI has made us lose something, let's cook. Let's take part in this beautiful act that brings our bodies and senses to life, makes the people around us happy, and lets the daily process of trial and error and experience make tomorrow a little better.

Jung Jiwoo, cultural critic and lawyer

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.