Wando Expo

By Choi Yearn-hong

I was delighted and surprised to read an article on the Wando Expo in English language newspapers such as The Korea Times and the Wall Street Journal, because “gimbap” and “miyeokkuk” are my respective favorite food and soup. I hope this article will be a continuation on the expo in The Korea Times and the WSJ.

As a matter of fact, it is my pleasure to read any good story in The Korea Times and in major American newspapers since it connects me to my home country and to the United States where I reside. Often political news from Korea and the U.S. is depressing. So reading about the Wando Expo could not be better. Basically, I enjoyed the articles saying it could make Wando a Mecca of edible seaweed worldwide. Korean “gimbap” and “miyekkuk” are not as well known as sushi, but they will emerge as healthy Korean foods in the world food market.

Nevertheless, I am not comfortable to say or use seaweed. I am not comfortable with word, “weed,” because it does not have a good sound and meaning linguistically. Biologically, it can be a kind of weed, but it bothers my sensitivity over language. Laver is another word in Wales and other English speaking countries. “Gim” is a Korean word for dried laver seaweed. Alga is another word; but I am at odds with this because often algae pollute water quality, killing fish after depleting the water of oxygen. I am a poet and an environmentalist. Of course, “gim” is a kind of alga, good alga.

My poetic sensitivity to language is still bothered by this “bad” English word. The best word is Korean word, “gim” and “miyeok.” (Of course, I am biased and prejudiced, but I can defend my bias and prejudice.) Such Korean words may compete with “nori,” the Japanese word in the international seaweed business, when many nations are now beginning to accept it as a viable food and economic resource. The United States, Canada, France and Southeast Asian nations are harvesting natural seaweed in their bay areas and intertidal zones naturally and artificially. They also acquire technology to “seed” seaweed to grow in offshore waters. Korea and Japan are the two most advanced nations in the seaweed farming business because people of the two nations love seaweed wrapped around rice with ground beef or sirloin steak and green vegetables, most recently with tuna in Korea.

“Gimbap” is my favorite with “Bibimbap.” “Bibimbap” has become a new word spreading out in the United States. Many of my American friends have discovered the nutritional value of “bibimbap” in Korean restaurants. “Gimbap” and “bibimbap” do not need any side dishes, because they are a condensed dish. A small bowl of soup often comes with “bibimbap,” but it is not really necessary. The soup may be equivalent to a soft drink with a sandwich in American restaurants. Gimbap’s main element is seaweed. It provides minerals and vitamins the human body needs.

It is well known that the “miyeokkuk” is an essential breakfast dish on a Korean’s birthday, like a birthday cake in the Western world. All women eat “miyeokkuk” for a couple of weeks after childbirth in order to “clean” their blood and recover. Seaweed may be the best food for new mothers. All Korean people remember their mothers offering “miyeokkuk” as an essential soup for their birthday breakfast. I am one of them. My mother celebrated my birthday that way, though I did not know the reason why. A long time later, I could understand it was a smart soup for the Korean diet. I learned food and nutrition when I was conscious of my health much later. Food was and is an essential part of life, many old Korean people were not conscious of it in the 1960s and ‘70s.

When the Wando Expo is exposed to the world media, “gimbap” and “miyeokkuk” will become new words emerging in the English dictionary. I hope they replace seaweed and sea mustard.

The WSJ article printed a mermaid statue from the expo. It was a black and white pencil-drawing. I cannot figure out how big the mermaid statue was at the expo. It reminded me of the mermaid in Copenhagen. It could be a good symbol. But I want it to be a sea-diving woman, not an imaginary Western mermaid, because the Korean sea-diving woman was very unique in the world. Sea-diving women are still “famous” on Jeju Island. If the sea-diving woman is not wanted, then I want to propose Simcheong as the symbol of the Expo, because Simcheong is a very important figure in Korean classical literature. She is known as a daughter who sacrificed her life in order for her blind father to recover his sight. She was rescued by the Korean seamen in the Yellow Sea. I love Simcheong as a daughter of filial piety and Chunhyang a woman of dedication to her lover in Korean literature.

Well, my responding commentary on the first seaweed expo is hopefully useful to Western readers as well as to Korean readers including future expo organizers in Wando.

The writer is a poet and writer based in the Washington area in the U.S. He has been a contributor to The Korea Times since 1966. Contact himyearnhchoi@gmail.com.