Abstract
The chapter considered Thorstein Veblen’s description of conspicuous consumption in the context of consuming food while travelling. Travelogues from pre-industrial Korean society were used for the data in the chapter, employing critical discourse analysis. The identified meanings were subsequently reflected on Veblen’s conspicuous consumption. Two embedded notions of instrumental and intrinsic values were reviewed from philosophical grounds. When consuming food and drink, the pre-industrial era travellers demonstrated traits that confirmed the central element in conspicuous consumption as adopted by marketing and tourism studies. Specifically, the use of instrumental value in the process of consuming food and drink was evident from the analysis. However, the consumption of food and drink could not solely be interpreted as instrumental value based on conspicuous consumption. This is owing to the undeniable fact that one needs food and drink to enable physical travel.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bak, S. (2006). McDonald’s in Seoul: Food choices, identity, and nationalism. In J. L. Watson (Ed.), Golden arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia (pp. 136–160). Redwood: Stanford University Press.
Choi, K. H. (1996). Anthology of Korean traditional travel literature I. Seoul: Kook Hak (국학자료원).
Cohen, E., & Avieli, N. (2004). Food in tourism: Attraction and impediment. Annals of Tourism Research, 31(4), 755–778.
Eckel, M. (1997). Is there a Buddhist philosophy of nature? In M. E. Tucker & D. R. Williams (Eds.), Buddhism and ecology: The interconnection of Dharma and Deeds (pp. 327–349). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Everett, S., & Aitchison, C. (2008). The role of food tourism in sustaining regional identity: A case study of Cornwall, South West England. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16(2), 150–167.
Gyimóthy, S., & Mykletun, R. J. (2009). Scary food: Commodifying culinary heritage as meal adventures in tourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 15(3), 259–273.
James, S. P. (2003). Zen Buddhism and the intrinsic value of nature. Contemporary Buddhism, 4(2), 143–157.
Jones, A., & Jenkins, I. (2002). A taste of Wales – Blas Ar Gymru: Institutional malaise in promoting Welsh food tourism products. In A.-M. Hjalager & G. Richards (Eds.), Tourism and gastronomy (pp. 115–131). London: Routledge.
Jung, W. Y. (1998). Travel to Geum Gang Mountain with ancestors. Gyunggi: In Wha (도서출판 인화).
Kagan, S. (1998). Rethinking intrinsic value. The Journal of Ethics, 2(4), 277–297. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009782403793.
Kim, S. (1976). A study of boudoir songs in Kang Neung. Korean Journal of Folklore Studies, 9(1), 1–25. (in Korean).
Kim, D., & Jang, S. (2014). Symbolic consumption in upscale cafés: Examining Korean gen Y consumers’ materialism, conformity, conspicuous tendencies, and functional qualities. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 41(2), 154–179.
Kim, Y. G., Eves, A., & Scarles, C. (2009). Building a model of local food consumption on trips and holidays: A grounded theory approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28, 423–431.
Kwen, Y. (1990). Introduction to Gyubanggasa. Korean Journal of National Culture, 11(1), 217–225. (in Korean).
Lin, Y. C., Pearson, T. E., & Cai, L. A. (2011). Food as a form of destination identity: A tourism destination brand perspective. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 11(1), 30–48.
Mak, A. H. N., Lumbers, M., & Eves, A. (2012). Globalization and food consumption in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(1), 171–196.
Marcoux, J. S., Filiatrault, P., & Chéron, E. J. (1997). The attitudes underlying preferences of young urban educated Polish consumers towards products made in western countries. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 9(4), 5–29.
Mintz, S. W., & Du Bois, C. M. (2002). The anthropology of food and eating. Annual Review of Anthropology, 31, 99–119.
Mura, P., Mognard, E., & Sharif, S. P. (2017). Tourism research in non-English-speaking academic systems. Tourism Recreation Research, 42(4), 436–445.
O’Cass, A., & McEwen, E. (2004). Exploring consumer status and conspicuous consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 4(1), 25–39.
Phillips, W. J., & Back, K. J. (2011). Conspicuous consumption applied to tourism destination. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 28(6), 583–597.
Richards, G. (2002). Gastronomy: An essential ingredient in tourism production and consumption? In A.-M. Hjalager & G. Richards (Eds.), Tourism and gastronomy (pp. 3–20). London: Routledge.
Van Dijk, T. A. (2003). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse and Society, 4(2), 249–283.
Veblen, T. (1899). The theory of the leisure class. Re-printed in 2005. London: Penguin Books.
Watson, J. L. (2006). Introduction: transnationalism, localization, and fast foods in East Asia. In J. L. Watson (Ed.), Golden arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia (pp. 1–38). Redwood: Stanford University Press.
Whang, J. (1982). A study on the background of thought in Gyubanggasa. Journal of Korean Language and Literature Education, 41, 31–60. (in Korean).
Whang, M. H. (1994). Understanding Korean classic literature. Seoul: Moon Hak & Hyun Shil (문학과 현실사).
Winter, T. (2006). Rethinking tourism in Asia. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(1), 27–44.
Winter, T., Teo, P., & Chang, T. C. (2009). Asia on tour: Exploring the rise of Asian tourism. New York: Routledge.
Yoon, S. D. & Lee, N. H. (1999). Travelogue to Geum Gang Mountain. Seoul: Gak Ga Jung Shin (작가정신).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lee, YS. (2019). Consuming Food in Pre-industrial Korean Travel: Approaching from Veblen’s Conspicuous Consumption. In: Park, E., Kim, S., Yeoman, I. (eds) Food Tourism in Asia. Perspectives on Asian Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3624-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3624-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3623-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3624-9
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)