history

Among the Korean cultural heritage is the practice of using potato starch. 

This practice refers to a way of life of the people in the northern alpine region of the DPRK who have farina as a staple. The starch is obtained by grinding properly washed potatoes and soaking the sediment in clear water several times before drying it. 

 Potato began to be cultivated in the Musan area of Hamgyong province located in the northern part of Korea in around 1824 and 1825. It found its way from Ryanggang Province in the northern part to Kangwon Province in the southern part by the 1830s-1840s. 

To meet the characteristic of the region where cold weather persists, northern highlanders would turn potato into starch favourable for storage to use it conveniently. 

Typical foods made of farina include starch noodles, dehydrated starch noodles and starch cake soup. 

The locals prepared starch noodles on ordinary days as well as holidays and feast days, and the food was characterized by pungent spices like red pepper and ample garnishings. 

In wintertime, people put coils of noodles on snow-covered roofs or hanged them on ropes to freeze-dry them. Such practice is still carried on. 

Starch cake soup is often prepared and eaten in Ryanggang Province. To prepare it, bits of dough are plucked with hand into boiling water to be done. They are cooled in cold water before being mixed with salty and hot spices and served on a bowl. A bowl of soup leaves a burning taste in the mouth and the forehead of its eater is dripping sweat. People believe that the food drives the chill out of the body in cold winter. 

Besides, pancake and taffy are also made with farina.