​만두 Mandoo

This video essay departs from the phrase “You are what you eat” to examine how food—specifically Mandoo (Korean dumplings)—can function as a lens for understanding the social, cultural, and political structures that shape us. Adopting the familiar format of a YouTube educational video, the work combines found footage, voice-over explanation, and interview excerpts to critically unpack the seemingly neutral domain of food.
 

Rather than tracing a single historical narrative, the piece interweaves multiple layers: the etymology and cultural history of Mandoo, its variations across regions, the methods of its preparation, and the personal memories attached to it. Central to the work is the act of wrapping—a gesture that appears across many cultures, in which white dough encloses an unseen filling. This act is read not only as a culinary technique, but as a political metaphor: the containment, concealment, or standardization of content under a neutralized exterior.
 

By framing Mandoo as a living archive, the video explores how recipes embody power, memory, and ideology. What appears as an everyday food becomes a site where systems of classification, control, and identity formation are folded into the choreography of hands. Through critical humor and formal play, the piece invites viewers to rethink what is considered familiar, edible, and innocuous.