Meeting Mr Kim

by Jennifer Barclay

  When I started looking for Korean cafes in London, a favourite became the Bibimbab Cafe near the British Museum. One day, I was sitting in there with a cup of green tea and sheltering from a freak summer rainstorm. When the rain didn’t stop, I bought another cup and lingered a little longer with my book. Eventually I thought I’d better just venture out anyway – but the kind Korean owner said I should stay to shelter there as long as I wanted, and even offered me a free cup of tea.

  I’m happy that I explored Korea in my own way, not the systematic Korean way but blundering into strange situations and finding my own path. Wandering is good for surprises, and I still prefer unpredictable travel. As Wook said, we are unsettled by long travels, but to me that can be good. It’s important to go your own way, to follow your instincts and be unsettled. Let a path lead you somewhere, and see where you end up.

  KIMCHI RECIPE

  Kimchi recipes vary a lot. Here is a simple one.

  Ingredients:

  2 kg Chinese cabbage

  500 g salt

  20 g coarse chilli flakes

  20 g garlic

  20 g spring onions

  20 g ginger

  10 ml Korean fish sauce

  water

  Remove a few outer leaves from the cabbage and set them aside. Cut the cabbage in half, cover it with salt or brine and leave overnight. Then rinse it well in fresh water.

  Mix the chilli, garlic, onions, ginger and fish sauce with water to form a thick-ish paste or marinade. Spread the paste over each leaf of the cabbage, making sure it’s completely covered. Wrap the whole thing in the outer leaves of the cabbage and leave in a jar to ferment in a cool place for up to a week, depending on how sour you like it.

  Slice it into bite-sized pieces, about two inches square. Store in the fridge.

  FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT SOUTH KOREA

  TEN THINGS TO DO

  Visit an ancient Buddhist monastery, preferably one that’s not too famous.

  Hike in the mountains in one of the national parks.

  If you’re there in May, witness the Confucian rites and music performed only once a year at Seoul’s Chongmyo Shrine.

  Go to one of the many local festivals around the country, such as the mud or firefly festival.

  Camp on a beach and swim in the Yellow Sea.

  See a traditional drumming and dance performance.

  If you’re there in winter, go skiing or to a hot springs resort.

  Experience real Korean nightlife by sharing dinner with locals and join them at a singing room.

  Spend the day or night exploring Namdaemun or Tongdaemun Market.

  Fly to the semitropical volcanic island of Chejudo.

  TEN TRAVEL TIPS

  Learn how to say thank you = kamsa hamnida (usually shortened to kamsamnida) and please = chuseyo

  Take off your shoes whenever you enter homes, hotel rooms or certain restaurants and leave them with the other shoes near the door.

  Eat rice with a spoon, but use chopsticks for noodles and for picking food off the main and side dishes in the middle of the table. Hold chopsticks or spoon in your right hand. Never stick your chopsticks in the food, and especially not in the rice bowl (this is associated with death). Leave them resting on the table. Don’t pick up food with your fingers.

  If you’re eating spicy food you can wipe your nose but it’s considered rude to blow your nose at the table.

  Not all ATMs accept foreign debit cards. They must say Global Service, so find a reliable one and use it – try a major hotel. You can get a cash advance on your credit card from a bank and most major hotels, restaurants and shops will accept credit cards.

  It’s easy and cheap to travel around the country by bus or train, and there’s now a fast train from Seoul to Pusan. For accommodation, yogwan are reliable and reasonably priced.

  Don’t write a Korean name in red – it means the person is dead.

  Respect those older than you or in a position of authority.

  If someone of ers you an empty glass, you hold it out towards them while they fill it with beer or soju. When pouring for someone else, it’s polite to cup your left hand under your pouring (right) arm. Cheers is kombeh!

  Don’t forget, kimchi is a good cure for a soju hangover!

  If you are working in South Korea, it’s a very good idea to learn the intricacies of social customs. But if you’re simply travelling around, people won’t expect you to know everything – just observe what others are doing and be polite.

  Check with your local embassy to find out if you require a visa to enter South Korea.

  CLIMATE

  Spring: March to May (mild temperatures, spring flowers blossom)

  Summer: June to August (rainy, hot, humid)

  Autumn: September and October (mild temperatures, leaves change colour)

  Winter: November to March (cold, snow)

  KOREAN DISHES TO TRY

  Bibimbap – rice with vegetables and fried egg, sometimes also beef

  Dolsot bibimbap – as above but served in a hot earthenware bowl so it continues to cook

  Bibim naengmyun – noodles with vegetables and hot sauce

  Bulgogi – beef marinated in rice wine and sugar, served with rice

  Kimchi tchigae – kimchi stew with tofu, sometimes also pork, served with rice and usually very hot and spicy

  Kimbap – snack sushi, made with cooked ingredients, not raw fish

  Mool naengmyun – cold noodles, broth, scissors – only for the adventurous

  NOTE ON LANGUAGE – ALTERNATIVE SPELLINGS

  A new official way of transcribing Korean words into English was introduced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2001. It is supposed to make it easier, but it doesn’t help much with pronunciation, and differs confusingly from the old system. Generally K has become G (but Kim is still Kim!), Ch has become J, P has become B. Here are some common words and well-known places whose spelling has changed.

  Changdokkung = Changdeokgung

  Chindo = Jindo

  Chongmyo = Jongmyo

  Choson = Joseon (and is often called Yi)

  hangul = hangeul

  kimchi = gimchi

  Koguryo = Goguryeo

  Kongju = Gongju

  Koryo = Goryeo

  Kupabal = Gupabal

  Kwanghwamun = Gwanghwamun

  Kyungbokkung = Gyeongbokgung

  Kyungju = Gyeongju

  Myung-dong = Myeong-dong

  Paekche = Baekje

  Popchusa = Beopjusa

  Pukansan = Bukhansan

  Pyonsan = Byeonsan

  Samgakchi = Samgakji

  sam-ship = sam-sip

  Shilla = Silla

  Toksan = Deoksan

  SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY AND USEFUL RESOURCES

  Details correct at time of going to press.

  A History of Modern Japan, Richard Storry (1960)

  A Short History of Asia, Colin Mason (2005)

  Building Peace and Democracy, Kim Dae-jung (1987)

  Corea or Cho-sen, A. Henry Savage Landor (1895)

  Find the Treasure Within, Seon Master Daehaeng

  House of the Winds, Mia Yun (1998)

  Korea: A Walk T hrough the Land of Miracles, Simon Winchester (1988, reprinted 2004)

  Korea’s Place in the Sun, Bruce Cumings (1997)

  Ten Thousand Sorrows, Elizabeth Kim (2000)

  The Aquariums of Pyongyang, Kang Chol-hwan (2000)

  The Korean War, editor David Rees (1984)

  The Lonely Planet Guide to Korea

  The Red Queen, Margaret Drabble (2004)

  Wake Up and Laugh: Dharma Talks by Korean Seon Master Daehaeng (2005)

  www.koreanbook.de

  www.hendrick-hamel.henny-savenije.pe.kr

  www.seoulsearching.com

  http://english.tour2korea.com/index.asp

  http://www.koreaherald.co.kr

  Jimoondang International Books in Korean Studies (Edison, NJ)

  Korean Cu
ltural Centre

  1 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5EJ

  0207 004 2600

  www.london.korean-culture.org

  Exciting art exhibitions, Korean film nights and a reference library of books and electronic media, open to the public in central London just off Trafalgar Square.

  London Korean Links

  www.londonkoreanlinks.net

  Independent blog and resource centre for all things Korea-related in the UK.

  The Anglo-Korean Society

  Regular events throughout the year, usually posted on London Korean Links.

  The East

  The East Asian Monthly Business Newspaper

  Free newspaper in English, found in Korean restaurants across London. Very entertaining website.

  www.theeast.org

  Embassy of the Republic of Korea

  60 Buckingham Gate

  London SW1E 6AJ

  0207 227 5500

  British Korean Veterans Association

  http://www.bkva.co.uk/

  Korea Tourism Organization

  www.visitkorea.or.kr

  Cultural Heritage Administration

  http://english.cha.go.kr/

  Korean Culture and Information Service

  www.korea.net

  Seoul Metropolitan Government information site

  http://english.seoul.go.kr/

  Unimaster Travel

  Flights to Korea

  www.unimaster-travel.com

  KOREAN FOOD I CAN RECOMMEND IN CENTRAL LONDON:

  Asadal

  227 High Holborn (next to Holborn tube station)

  0207 430 9006

  Hard to tell from outside but downstairs it’s a spacious, upmarket restaurant with reasonable prices.

  Bibimbab Café

  37 Museum Street

  0207 404 8880

  Small café near the British Museum, limited menu but friendly!

  Bi Won

  24 Coptic Street

  0207 580 2660

  Small restaurant near the British Museum.

  New Seoul

  164 Clerkenwell Road

  0871 332 7218

  Very popular spot.

  Woo Jung

  59 St Giles High Street

  0207 836 3103

  Authentic, cheap and cheerful, just behind Centrepoint at Tottenham Court Road tube station. Afterwards you can pop into the Seoul Bakery for something sweet, then cross the road to stock up on supplies at...

  Centre Point Food Store

  20-21 St Giles High Street

  Korean and Japanese food supplies.

  To find a range of Korean restaurants and shops in one place, go to New Malden, south-west London. There’s a range of excellent, authentic restaurants, but worth a trip for the decor alone is:

  Han bar and restaurant

  1 High Street

  0208 949 7730

  Spread over three floors, with sumptuously decorated raised private eating areas, water features and themed norae-bang (karaoke rooms).

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A big thank you first of all to Gavin Mills, who not only invited me to South Korea but saw this book grow.

  Warmest thanks also to Michael Bollen and Alastair Williams for agreeing to publish the book, to authors Margaret Drabble, Anna Nicholas and most of all Simon Winchester for generously giving your time and encouragement, and to Andy Davies for the beautiful cover design.

  To everyone at Summersdale Publishers including Nicky Douglas, Elly Donovan, Dean Chant, Lucy York, Anna Martin, Stewart Ferris, Rob Smith and Bert Melhuish, and at Wakefield Press including Kathy Sharrad, Stephanie Johnston and Angela Tolley, and to Adrian Watson – thank you so much for your support and for being great to work with.

  For valuable feedback and advice along the way, thanks to Will Aitken, Nicola Barr, Arjun Basu, Jane Boyd, Sarah Herman, Tatiana Wilde and Rebecca Winfield. If there’s anyone I’ve omitted to mention, I apologise.

  For introducing me to the Korean community in London, thanks to Soo Kim and most of all the tireless Philip Gowman.

  Thanks as always to Mum, Peter and Dad, and to Duncan for issuing the challenge that it was too late for me to be a travel writer. And thank you to RW.

  To Kim Wook-hyuon and all the other people who welcomed me to South Korea – this book is, of course, dedicated to you, and to peace and happy memories in Korea.

  WWW.SUMMERSDALE.COM