Currently, there are approximately 2,400 Koreans living in Cincinnati according to peoplegroup.info. The validity of that information is pending, but it does paint a picture of the Korean landscape within Cincinnati's population of 300,000. In a wide scope, the US Census states that there were around 16,417 Koreans living in Ohio in the year 2015. Some population tracking websites put that number around 20,000 in recent years but, again, there's a lack of validity to those sources.

All of this is to say that the Korean community within Cincinnati is a small one. However, it is not one to have gone unnoticed. The World Affairs Council of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky did a piece introducing the region to Korean food, music, and history. All highlight the small but strong community here. The piece boasted that the city was home to a large number of Korean churches from all different denominations (those churches are even frequented every Sunday by NKU's Korean Exchange student populations). Even though small, the Korean community seems to have its place within Cincinnati.

A community that is growing. In 2010, the Ohio government run census stated that there were 6,900 people that identified as Asian. Ten years later in 2020, that number had risen to 10,400. People that identify as Asian now take up 2.2% of the Cincinnati population. This greater Asian influence is palpable. Recently, (October 2022) during Cincinnati's light show event, BLINK, there was a very topical event going on: The Asianati Night Market, which spanned Vine and Court Streets. Asianati is a brand that specializes in raising awareness about the Asian community within Cincinnati. Their website says that they celebrate "Asian food and culture through stories, news, and our directory of Asian restaurants, food trucks, markets, bakeries, and more." The Night Market itself hosted restaurants and food trucks from various regions in Asia (and Hawaii). You could get Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, Thai, and even Korean food. I had the pleasure of going to the market and grabbed myself some ddeokbokki (떡볶이), or Korean rice cakes, and tangsuyuk (탕수육), a sweet and sour meat dish, from the aptly named Neko Sushi (two Japanese words make a Korean restaurant I guess). It was a fun event that showed just how prevalent the Asian community is becoming within Cincinnati and with that comes the Korean one.

I bring up Asianati Night Market because it is a glimpse into one of the strongest ways that the Asian and Korean community makes itself known within the city - through food. There is a concept within Public Diplomacy in which a country creates a national brand to 'sell' to other countries. Having a national brand helps a country gain sympathy and support for its endeavors within the international community. One of the many ways that a country can 'sell' its brand is through food. I will go further in depth into the concept of a national food in another section but I think it is important for you to understand that food plays a powerful role in building a culture overseas.

There are around 10 Korean restaurants within the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region. Now, it is important to note that not all of these restaurants specialize in only Korean food. The concept of the Asian fusion restaurant is quite big in the region. However, all of these restaurants do have Korean dishes on the menu. This is a sizable amount of restaurants given the size of the Korean community within the city. It goes to show how successful Korean food has been within Cincinnati.

When I was coming up with a topic for my final project, I knew I wanted it to be centered around Korean culture, I just didn't know what aspect. After I got back from Korea, and having fallen in love with Korean food, the decision was a little easier to make. The basis of this project is an attempt to paint a picture of what Korean food looks like within Cincinnati. With a wealth of restaurants to choose from, I never felt like there was a shortage of sources. However, given the sort time span that I had, I knew I would have to narrow it down. For the rest of this project, we will be looking into three different Korean food establishments (Drunken Bento, Sake Bomb, and Riverside Korean) and hearing their stories about selling Korean in Cincinnati. I hope that Queen City Eumsik (eumsik meaning food in Korean), can help raise awareness about the Korean community within Cincinnati through one of its most successful ventures, food.