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| A Korea Times staff member tries Pyongyang naengmyeon at a restaurant in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Sunday. / Korea Times photo by Lee Suh-yoon |
By Lee Suh-yoon
North and South Koreans have been separated for the past 65 years, but their taste buds still betray their common heritage.
Kim Jong-un offered to treat Moon Jae-in to proper Pyongyang naengmyeon ― a Northern delicacy comprised of cold buckwheat noodles in an icy broth ― for dinner, during the morning session of Friday's leaders' summit.
Two hours later, people formed long lines outside Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurants in Seoul hoping to share in the historic moment by enjoying the summit menu for lunch.
"I wanted to better identify with the positive energy and emotions that came out of the summit," said Yoo Soo-kyeong, 46, who visited a Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul, for lunch on Sunday.
Restaurant owners had trouble accommodating the sudden influx of customers.
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"We were unprepared for the sudden crowd and almost unable to serve all customers on Friday," the owner of Kangseo Myun Oak, a restaurant that serves Pyongyang naengmyeon in Jung-gu, central Seoul, said.
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| A tweet from Friday that reads: "Remember Brother (Moon) Jae-in, your number one goal for this summit is opening a Seoul branch of Okryugwan. Don't you come back without it." |
#PyongyangNaengmyeon climbed to Twitter's top trending keyword on Friday as thousands tweeted about their past and coming encounters with the dish.
A tweet asking for a Seoul branch of Okryugwan, a famed North Korean restaurant whose head chef prepared the Pyongyang naengmyeon for the summit, went viral with over 2000 re-tweets.
"Remember Brother (Moon) Jae-in, your number one goal for this summit is opening a Seoul branch of Okryugwan. Don't you come back without it," the user tweeted.
Pyongyang naengmyeon, however, is not the only thing that has caught the attention of South Koreans.
Numerous tweets asked for North Korea's Taedonggang beer ― which is known to be less bland than South Korean brands ― to be made available at convenience stores.
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| A scene from a Taedonggang beer advertisement. |
One tweet, asking for four cans of Taedonggang beer to be sold for 10,000 won ($9), the price set for imported beer at convenience stores in South Korea, gained over 6000 re-tweets.
Widespread South Korean dissatisfaction with domestic beer brands is behind Taedonggang beer's sudden trending status alongside Pyongyang naengmyeon.
"Naengmyeon restaurants in South Korea can now compete with Okryugwan, and Cass and Hite with Taedonggang," a user called Greenolive_ace tweeted. "Come into the wide embrace of our free market system. We consumers will not betray you."
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