In the "100 Best Cuisines in the World" rankings released by the online food guide TasteAtlas, Korea ranked 19th worldwide. In Asia, Japan placed 6th, the highest, followed by China at 8th. Korea came in four places below the United States, which ranked 15th.
On the 18th, South China Morning Post (SCMP) questioned the suitability of the evaluation. SCMP noted the United States ranking higher than countries with long culinary histories, asking, "Who would acknowledge that a hamburger is more valuable than a bowl of pho or bibimbap?"
Among other Asian countries, Indonesia ranked 10th, India 13th, Thailand 24th, the Philippines 25th, and Malaysia 29th. In contrast, Singapore, known as a culinary mecca, stayed at 90th. On this, SCMP said, "It seems that few of TasteAtlas's European contributors understand the influence of Hainanese chicken rice on Southeast Asian cuisine."
TasteAtlas describes itself as "an encyclopedia of flavors and a world map compiling traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic eateries," and says it calculates the rankings based on data for more than 10,000 foods.
However, some criticize it as a fad-driven review, pointing to the large year-to-year fluctuations in rankings. In addition to country rankings, TasteAtlas releases various culinary rankings every month, including the world's top 100 foods, the world's top 100 culinary regions, and the world's top 100 culinary cities.