Jeongwon Kim, Regional Researcher of Indonesia

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Hello! My name is Jeongwon Kim, Sejong Global High school student from Korea. I’m glad to interact with wonderful friends in Indonesia.

My hometown is Sejong, a city next to Daejeon. I often visit Sejong Lake Park because it has a nice view at night. If you come to Sejong, I recommend you to visit here.

I used to live in Indonesia for few years, and I enjoyed the country a lot. However, I didn’t know much about the country because I was too young. So, I want to learn more about Indonesia, especially about people, culture, environment, and other diverse social issues.

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Hello friends! I’m going to talk about Indonesian foods today.

Indonesia is composed with lots and lots of islands, so I think that each islands will have different foods. I’ll try my best to introduce the most famous dishes.

(I don’t know perfectly about Indonesian foods, and I might have found wrong information. If I made a mistake, please tell me through comments!)

 

These are the words that can be found in Indonesia restaurant menus.

Goreng: Fried

Bakar: Grilled

Panggang: Roasted

Nasi: Rice

Mie: Noodles

Ayam: Chicken

Ikan: Fish

Babi: Pork

Sayur: Vegetable

Sup: Soup

1. Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng is fried rice, which is loved by all Indonesians, and it is considered Indonesia’s national dish.

I also tried Nasi Goreng when I was young. I enjoyed it because it was easy to make and eat. Nasi Goreng is a dish that I ate the most among other Indonesian foods.

2. Satay (Sate)

Meat which is diced into small pieces are put in a skewer. The meat is flavored with diverse seasoning. Lastly, they are placed on the grill.

There is also a similar food in Korea which is called ‘꼬치’. Satay and ‘꼬치’ has similarity that different kinds of meat can be used, such as chicken, beef, fish.

3. Ikan Bakar

Since Indonesia is surrounded with ocean, fish dishes are widely enjoyed by Indonesian people. The fish is usually marinated in a mix of coconut oil and soy sause, with a combination of spices.

The word ‘Ikan Bakar’ means ‘fried fish’ in Indonesian. However, this dish has too much charm to just be called as fried fish.

4. Ayam Goreng

Ayam Goreng is Indonesia’s fried chicken. This dish is popular because of its crispy coating and delicious taste. Ayam Goreng is also loved by it's crispy coating.

Korea’s fried chicken has a similar taste, but Indonesia’s fried chicken has stronger seasoning.

5. Bakso

Bakso is a meatball soup, which contains noodles, vegetables, broccoil, and eggs. Meatballs inside it are usually made from beef, chicken, or a mixture of the two. Bakso is especially loved where it was created, Jakarta.

6. Indomie

This product can be found in everywhere in Indonesia. I also ate Indomie several times, and I felt that it is similar to Korea’s instant noodles. I suppose that Indomie and Nasi Goreng are the two most eaten Indonesian foods.

Thank you for reading my post today! Which one would you like to try? What have you tried before, and what was your favorite?

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Hello friends! I’m here today to talk about one of the environmental issues in Indonesia. Ecological issues have diverse aspects such as climate change, air pollution, water pollution, habitat destruction, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. Today, I’ll explain deforestation, which leads to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss.

Deforestation in Indonesia

In the 1960s, more than 75% of Indonesia’s land area was covered by forests. However, as time passed, it dropped to 50% in 2001. And they are still decreasing today.

The map above shows Indonesia’s serious deforestation. The red parts on the map indicate how much forest we lost since 1950. By seeing the map, you can realize that efforts to stop deforestation are urgent and essential. 

Then, why should we stop deforestation in Indonesia? It’s because Indonesia is a mega-biodiversity region with the highest biodiversity in the world. Indonesia is home to 12% mammal species and 17% of the bird species on our planet. The habitat of animals and plants is vanishing due to deforestation. At last, biodiversity loss will happen.

The main reasons for deforestation in Indonesia are activities such as mining, agriculture, illegal logging, and weak law enforcement. I suggest that the Indonesian government should hire more interest in deforestation and implement stronger regulations. Also, Indonesian people should recognize the seriousness of the issue and know that illegal logging and mining activities are a problem.

 

The fact that other countries come to Indonesia to grow crops is another main reason for deforestation. Even though Indonesia is trying to stop deforestation, it is futile if other countries continue to come to Indonesia and log trees for farmland. Stronger regulations are also needed in these kinds of aspects.  

Some people might think that deforestation is inevitable to develop the country. However, deforestation causes biodiversity loss, and conserving creatures’ habitats is our duty. I hope people who think that deforestation isn’t a big problem change their mindsets.

 

Thanks for reading, and I’ll try my best to keep my interest in environmental issues in Indonesia. Feel free to give me suggestions about topics to post. Have a nice day 😉

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