Me Cook? No, You Cook!
America-themed restaurant’s name riles some foreign Korean-language speakersBy Matt Van Volkenburg and Jon DunbarYears ago, I saw a birthday party ruined in spectacular fashion. An American friend, an advanced Korean language learner, was chatting with two Korean women who began ridiculing his pronunciation, repeating to each other “Mikuk” (not “Miguk,” which means American) several times. My friend became angry at them and the party ended early. So it came as a surprise to find a restaurant chain with three locations in Seoul serving Western food, or fusion versions of it, under the same word, Romanized by them as “Me Cook.” With branches in Daehangno, Gangnam, and Gwangmyeong: “Me Cook” features Western-looking food, Americana on the walls, and signs boasting it is “Better than America.” The sign makes one wonder if the restaurant is just overconfident or if it could even possibly be anti-American. As it turns out, there is more than first meets the eye to the name. There’s a lot to parse in this image of the s
