What a view | Netflix documentary Korean Cold Noodle Rhapsody explores the country’s history through a summer staple dish, while BBC’s Manhunt thrills in its second series
- Chef and host Paik Jong-won looks at the history of Korea through bowls of noodles, talks to North Korean refugees and examines a 1950s food delivery service
- BBC true-crime series Manhunt returns and, despite moments where nothing seems to happen, develops into a stealthy thriller as the tense finale approaches
The second in an occasional series of two-part food-travel-lifestyle documentaries, Korean Cold Noodle Rhapsody lives up to its promise to deliver a history of Korea through a bowl of noodles.
It’s rhapsodic, too, especially in the enjoyment derived by chef and television host Paik Jong-won from each helping of Pyongyang naengmyeon, Jeju naengmyeon and other varieties he samples as he travels the country, from the south almost up to the closed border in the north.
And it’s there that this simple soul food’s spiritual home appears to lie (clue: “Pyongyang”). Touchingly, former refugees from the Hermit Kingdom – some still desperate for reunification – pine for their homeland as they dine, sharing memories and regrets as they slurp with gusto.
Food critics also weigh in with their assessment of a staple comestible “filled with history and meaning”, which, amazingly for all noodle novices, can be profoundly affected by the weather on the day the naengmyeon (always freshly prepared) is made. Who knew that humidity can affect the preparation of the dough?
Meanwhile, records show that royal noodle approval came courtesy of King Gojong in the 19th century, Joseon-era (1392–1897) literary scholars extolled naengmyeon’s delights and that in the 1950s (resurrected in monochrome footage and photographs) a prototype Deliveroo was in business, feeding Seoul via bicycle courier.
Today, young urban devotees are discovering a creation whose “beauty is in the lack of flavour”, however bizarre that may sound, extending the reach of this “new” craze ever further with traction from Instagram.