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| From Gen. Abrams' twitter account |
By Oh Young-jin
There was a time when the word kimchi ― Koreans' fermented cabbage side dish ― was used with a derogatory connotation. One example was a Kimchi GI, a soldier with Korean ancestry who served in the U.S. military.
Reflecting changing times ― the popularity of K-pop band BTS, hansik or traditional Korean food and virtually anything Korean ― even a four-star U.S. general might not mind being called a "Kimchi General."
Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), the United Nations Command (UNC) and U.S.-ROK Combined Forces Command (CFC), recently expressed his love of kimchi and Korean galbi ― beef and pork ribs and chicken breast often marinated with sweet soy sauce.
"1. Korean barbecue is the best 2. A day without kimchi is like a day without sunshine 3. Hwahwa Restaurant in Pyeongtaek-si is #1," so wrote Gen. Abrams on his Twitter June 15.
Together with his "few factoids" comes an apparent selfie, judging by the angle, that also captures his five "teammates." On the table is a brazier with a grill on top.
Apparently it was taken toward the end of their meal, with some leftovers on the charred grill. And there was a bowl of kimchi.
One reply to the tweet suggested soju, a popular Korean liquor, should go with the meal, but none was seen.
I called Hwahwa, the restaurant the general praised, and talked to the owner. There were three such places of the same name franchise in Pyeongtaek and the last one I called was the place in the picture.
"The general does come," Song Se-ung, the owner, told The Korea Times. As for the general's tastes, he was privacy-minded. "I wouldn't stand there and watch what they eat."
About kimchi, Song was enthusiastic when he said: "Foreigners love it." He said his kimchi is not a faux type with condiments such as ground red pepper thrown on fresh cabbage leaves but a genuinely fermented one.
Just like other things Korean, kimchi is getting the place it deserves in the global palate. The general has just added to a growing body of evidence. More than that, friends do share food, don't they?
Perhaps that sense of being friends can't be underestimated when the two countries are undergoing challenging moments, such as Korea's takeover of wartime control and the subsequent changeover in the leadership of the two countries' war machine, which would reverse the current order and put a Korean general over a U.S. general. Or more fundamentally, along the way the two allies dismantle North Korea's nuclear program.
Bravo! Way to go! Gen. Abrams. Take your commander-in-chief to a Korean restaurant when he visits later this month. But maybe it would be too hot for him.
