Earlier this year, local food columnist Hwang Gyo-ik made headlines by arguing that Korean cuisine culture was “uncivilized.” He said Koreans used too much sugar in almost every dish including kimchi, stir-fired anchovies and even the famous Korean barbecue.
“It’s hard to find other countries that use sugar in almost every dish,” he said in a recent radio interview. “Sure, they have desserts, but they also have plenty of other dishes that do not contain sugar.”
He argued that the “less civilized” have a tendency to consume sweeter foods due to a lack of healthier recipes.
Regardless of Hwang’s controversial remarks, South Korea has recently declared war against sugar, releasing measures to reduce its citizens’ sugar consumption.
The move came with a government study that revealed almost half of Koreans aged 3-29 are consuming too much sugar, leaving them vulnerable to a number of health conditions including obesity and diabetes. The study showed that sugar accounted for more than 10 percent of their daily caloric intake, which makes them 39 percent more likely to develop obesity and 66 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure.
Sugar itself doesn’t cause diabetes, but high sugar consumption can lead to obesity -- which often causes one’s body to resist insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar. When this happens, an individual’s risk of diabetes goes up.
“Our number one priority is to discourage young children from consuming processed foods,” said researcher Park Sun-young from the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. “But we are also coming up with recipes for home dishes so more people can make them without using too much sugar.”
For example, bulgogi, the famous Korean dish of grilled marinated beef, has a sugar content that ranges from 5-8 percent, according to the Food Ministry.
The agency in 2014 came up with an alternative recipe for the signature Korean dish, which suggested mixing a small amount of sugar with mirim, a type of rice wine known for its sweet taste. By using mirim instead of sugar, the Food Ministry said one can reduce the dish’s sugar content down to 1.7 percent.
“We also offer low-sugar recipes for strawberry jam, sikhye, a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage, and kongjaban, a side dish made of salty black beans,” Park said.
Besides the low-sugar recipes, the new measures against sugar include nutrition labelling of food products and banning certain items with high sugar levels, such as carbonated drinks, from being sold at schools.
According to the government study, the largest proportion of Koreans consume sugar by drinking carbonated drinks, followed by pastries, cookies and rice cakes.
As of last year, Koreans on average had 65.3 grams of sugar daily, the Food Ministry said. Among all age groups, teenagers aged 12-18 had the highest sugar consumption, eating 80 grams of sugar daily, followed by those aged 19-29, who consumed 70.9 grams of sugar every day.
South Korea has been seeing an increasing number of obesity patients in recent years. According to a study released by the National Health Insurance Service, the number of obese Koreans -- those with a body mass index of 30 or above - accounted for 4.2 percent of the entire population in 2012, up from 2.5 percent in 2002.
A new guideline released by the World Health Organization last year says that intake of sugar varies by age and country.
In Europe, it ranges from 7-8 percent of total energy intake for adults in countries like Hungary and Norway to 17 percent in countries like the U.K. and Spain. Intake is much higher among children, ranging from about 12 percent in countries like Sweden and Denmark to nearly 25 percent in Portugal.
“Research shows that children with the highest intake of sugar-sweetened drinks are more likely to be overweight or obese than children with a low intake of sugar-sweetened drinks,” the WHO said in a statement.
The WHO also revealed in April that the number of diabetes patients worldwide had nearly quadrupled to 422 million in 2014 from 108 million in 1980. High blood sugar levels are linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide each year. The WHO also warned that the numbers would only increase unless drastic actions are taken.
The WHO also recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of sugar to less than 10 percent of their total energy intake. A further reduction to below 5 percent, or 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day, would provide additional health benefits, it said.
In response to the Food Ministry’s announcement, the local food industry has plans to cut sugar in their products, including CJ CheilJedang’s ongoing investment in developing sugar substitutes.
By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)