Abstract
In this age of information ruled by new technologies and knowledge, the world is interconnected as a single community, and within this trend of globalization, new cultural codes are emerging through temporal fusion between the past and the present and spatial fusion between different regions and countries. In this situation, it seems meaningful to review Korean fusion foods and restaurants serving such foods, as well as to consider their future directions. Thus, the objective of the present study was to survey and analyze Korean fusion restaurants representing Korean culture not only in Korea, but also in foreign cities, and to identify the expression characteristics of such restaurants. Based on restaurants recommended in relevant magazines and on Internet sites, 18 spaces were selected, visited, and surveyed, in which tradition and modernism were well-mixed. Data on the shapes, materials, colors, and patterns of spatial elements and food-related elements, including photographs, were collected and analyzed. The results are as follows. Of the 18 restaurants, 13 (72%) showed temporal fusion in both spatial and food-related elements, 4 showed temporal fusion in spatial elements and cultural fusion in food-related elements, and 1 showed cultural fusion in both spatial and food-related elements. In general, the spaces were mainly designed with modern elements and partially with traditional elements (ceilings, windows, furniture, articles), and the fusion of food-related elements was made in diverse forms that included temporal fusion restructuring traditional menus contemporarily, and cultural fusion harmonizing traditional food with Western cookery.