First Lady Kim on Food Mission
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
First lady Kim Yoon-ok has been at the forefront of Korea's campaign to globalize its culinary culture.
She recently made "kimchi" with Japanese first lady Miyuki Hatoyama during her visit to Korea. After mixing the vegetables with spicy stuffings, Kim offered a fresh slice of kimchi to Hatoyama who showed her appreciation by asking in Korean for a bowl of rice to go with the kimchi.
In the afternoon, Kim visited Bongyeong Temple in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to celebrate the 2009 Korean Temple Food Festival. She looked around the festival and had the fare of a monk's diet for dinner. Korean monks fill four bowls with only as much as they can eat, leaving no excess.
"Demonstrating the biggest merits of Korean food, temple food is the ultimate example of healthy, well-being cuisine," Kim said.
"The globalization of Korean food can be successful when we can provide a new, enjoyable experience for foreigners through food."
The government started campaigning to promote Korean cuisine worldwide in April and the first lady serves as the honorary chairwoman of the Globalization of the Korean Cuisine Committee.
Her first attempt to promote Korean food globally was at the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit in June. She single-handedly created the reception menus, considering it as a good chance to introduce Korean food to world leaders.
At the summit, Korean royal cuisine was served for dinner while the luncheon featured modernized Korean dishes. Kim suggested "janchiguksu," or noodles in anchovy broth.
When President Lee Myung-bak visited the United States in September, she made "pajeon," green onion pancakes, by herself for Korean War veterans on Sept. 21.
The New York Times reported her cooking in a story entitled "Culinary Diplomacy With a Side of Kimchi." She said she wanted to impart a positive impression of Korean food.
Born in 1947, Kim graduated from the Health Education and Management Department of Ewha Womans University. She married President Lee in 1970.