A Little Behind-the-Scenes Look at My Latest Post
While working on my Seollal food series, I decided to experiment with AI-generated images. Little did I know this would lead to some amusing culinary "creative interpretations" that I just had to share!
▼ Corresponding post link
I ended up with this photo that supposedly shows a “Korean Lunar New Year feast.” At first glance, it looked okay, but if you zoom in, there’s a random strawberry sitting inside a ttukbaegi (a traditional Korean earthenware pot used for stews). Normally, people use ttukbaegi to keep soups and stews hot for a long time, but hey, maybe strawberry stew is the next big thing?
(In Korean cuisine, ttukbaegi is typically used for dishes that need to stay hot for a long time, like stews, bulgogi, or dolsot bibimbap.)
The AI's interpretation of tteok-manduguk was particularly interesting. While the overall presentation looked appetizing, there was one notable deviation - instead of the traditional flat, oval slices of garaetteok, the AI used cylindrical rice cakes typically found in tteokbokki! As someone who's grown up eating Korean food, this was both amusing and intriguing. Could this unconventional twist actually work? I found myself wondering how it might taste...
▲ tteokguk (rice cake soup)
▲ tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes)
Some versions featured interesting additions like pine nuts, while others looked more like completely different dishes altogether. It was a perfect example of how AI can sometimes misinterpret cultural dishes in unexpected ways.
At this point, if you’re curious, try picturing “Korean pan fried skewers” in your head. Then go ahead and search it—maybe something like “Korean Kkochi Jeon.” Compare your mental image with the real thing. It’s probably an eye-opener, right?
These AI-generated food images often fall into what you might call a "culinary uncanny valley" - close enough to look familiar, yet with subtle details that feel distinctly off to those who know the dishes well. While technologies like DALL-E and Midjourney are impressive, they still have some charming quirks when it comes to cultural accuracy. I've started collecting these amusing AI interpretations, and I'll be sure to share more of these "creative liberties" in future posts!
