HTBMFF - How Tteokbokki became my favorite food
Partners: Marie Kang (creative director) Presented in Chiasm, Sectie C during Dutch Design Week. To be Cooked booth during Dutch Design Week & Limestone Books dedicated Book Launch Event. (NL)
Exploring identity, migration, and cuisine through design
As two social designers with roots in different parts of the world, we were brought together by our shared interest in eating together. Our journey began during our Master’s at Design Academy Eindhoven, where we discovered how homemade meals helped bridge distances—not only between us and our homes, but also between us and each other.
This project explores the kitchen as a cultural interface, using Korean food practices as a case study to examine the intersection of identity, globalization, and accessibility within the Dutch context. Through research and design, we investigate how traditional Korean ingredients are adapted—or substituted—within Eindhoven’s supermarket landscape, and what this tells us about cultural merging in everyday life.
Our process blends ethnographic research with culinary experimentation. We analyzed ingredient availability in both Dutch and Asian supermarkets, studied the significance of key elements in Korean recipes, and developed accessible dishes tailored to life in the Netherlands. The outcome is a bilingual (Dutch/English) illustrated recipe book, designed not just to teach cooking, but to open up a conversation about migration, belonging, and food as a shared language.
The project culminated in October 2024 with two soft launch events: one at Limestone Books in Maastricht, and another during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Both launches featured an interactive installation and a special line of ceramicware designed specifically for the book, bringing the publication to life through touch, taste, and storytelling.
This project is for curious home cooks, and multicultural communities alike—anyone who believes food is more than sustenance; it’s a way to connect, reflect, and belong.
Ask for a hardcover ☞HERE