By Chung Min-uck
Top diplomats of the United States and China have recently caught the attention of Korean citizens as they sought to generate a sense of connection and affinity via so-called "food" diplomacy.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, upon his visit to Seoul, said Tuesday, "Personally, eating jajangmyeon was the most important matter to me on my first visit to Korea in six years."
According to diplomatic sources, Wang took time to eat "jajangmyeon," Korean-style Chinese noodles in black bean sauce, during his short two-day trip.
A Chinese official was quoted as saying, "Minister Wang had jajangmyeon for lunch on Monday right after he arrived at Incheon International Airport."
The black-bean noodle was originally introduced to Korea by Chinese merchants who settled in the country's western port city of Incheon in 1905 when Qing Dynasty soldiers came to help quell a military mutiny in Korea.
Currently, its form and flavor have been greatly changed to suit Koreans' taste, making it one of the most popular foods in Korea.
Similarly, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ate "tteokbokki," Korean rice cake in pepper paste sauce, at Tongin Market in Seoul during his visit in February.
Sources say officials from the U.S. embassy in Seoul had prepared the event in advance.
Kerry's eating the nation's representative street food with chopsticks received wide media coverage here.
"Jajangmyeon serves as one of the historical links between Korea and China, and tteokbokki is regarded as uniquely Korean food in the eyes of Americans," said a foreign ministry official, Wednesday. "Those moves are part of a diplomatic gesture to appeal to ordinary Koreans. It could be considered public diplomacy."
"Public diplomacy" is a new frontier in cross-border relations which seeks to win the hearts and minds of foreigners using various "soft power" assets such as culture and historical experiences.
It became an important aspect of many countries' diplomacy because nowadays no foreign policy can be effectively conducted if a country is not favorably viewed by people from other countries.
Those moves went viral online with many netizens praising the important visitors from two powerful countries, known as the G2, saying "such actions taken particularly by global leaders with great influence will greatly help the world prosper together."
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| Wang Yi | John Kerry |
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, upon his visit to Seoul, said Tuesday, "Personally, eating jajangmyeon was the most important matter to me on my first visit to Korea in six years."
According to diplomatic sources, Wang took time to eat "jajangmyeon," Korean-style Chinese noodles in black bean sauce, during his short two-day trip.
A Chinese official was quoted as saying, "Minister Wang had jajangmyeon for lunch on Monday right after he arrived at Incheon International Airport."
The black-bean noodle was originally introduced to Korea by Chinese merchants who settled in the country's western port city of Incheon in 1905 when Qing Dynasty soldiers came to help quell a military mutiny in Korea.
Currently, its form and flavor have been greatly changed to suit Koreans' taste, making it one of the most popular foods in Korea.
Similarly, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ate "tteokbokki," Korean rice cake in pepper paste sauce, at Tongin Market in Seoul during his visit in February.
Sources say officials from the U.S. embassy in Seoul had prepared the event in advance.
Kerry's eating the nation's representative street food with chopsticks received wide media coverage here.
"Jajangmyeon serves as one of the historical links between Korea and China, and tteokbokki is regarded as uniquely Korean food in the eyes of Americans," said a foreign ministry official, Wednesday. "Those moves are part of a diplomatic gesture to appeal to ordinary Koreans. It could be considered public diplomacy."
"Public diplomacy" is a new frontier in cross-border relations which seeks to win the hearts and minds of foreigners using various "soft power" assets such as culture and historical experiences.
It became an important aspect of many countries' diplomacy because nowadays no foreign policy can be effectively conducted if a country is not favorably viewed by people from other countries.
Those moves went viral online with many netizens praising the important visitors from two powerful countries, known as the G2, saying "such actions taken particularly by global leaders with great influence will greatly help the world prosper together."
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