[Opinion] Bibimbab

American pop singer Michael Jackson often enjoyed `Bibimbab (cooked rice mixed with fresh vegetables)` during his visit to Korea a couple of years ago. He said that ˝Bibimbab is my favorite Korean dish and it’s also good for diet. ˝ In fact, Bibimbab is now known as a tasty Korean cuisine around the world. There are even Bibimbab restaurant chains in the U.S. and Japan. Korean Airline successfully introduced a new style of Bibimbab to passengers on board, and is currently serving as many as 100,000 dishes a day mainly to foreign travelers using American or European routes. It doesn’t come with broth unlike other Korean cuisines, which makes it easier to become internationalized.

▷ The origin of Bibimbab is not known clearly. Some say the first Bibimbab came when a king in ancient Korea, fleeing the capital after foreign invasion, was served with a dish mixed with various greens instead of delicacy he had. Some others point to that farmers on the field used to share a bowl with various side dishes in it because of lack of bowls. And others say that it was from a custom that family members share food after a memorial service. People in their 40s or 50s might remember their childhood – a group of people sat around a big brass bowl to have Bibimbab all together. Some restaurants serve ` Brass Bowl Bibimbab` hinted by the idea.

▷ Bibimbab matches such commonly enjoyed vegetables as cucumber, young pumpkin, spinach and mung bean with regional specialties. The most beloved Jeonju Bibimbab, in particular, comes with some 20 ingredients including various greens and meat, and uses soybean source, red-pepper pasts and beef broth to let people have the taste of heaven. It is good for those who have lost their appetite. With sweet tasted traditional Korean drink, it’s just perfect.

▷ Lawmaker Park Guen-hye leading Future Coalition recently compared latest moves by migrant politicians to a bowl of Bibimbab in a highly critical tone. Regardless of differences in political ideology and stance, they are busy forming alliances before the upcoming presidential election. Her remark, however, is an insult to Bibimbab. Each ingredient of Bibimbab has its uniqueness and when mixed together, the dish makes an exquisite harmony like an orchestra. It is not mixture of whatever is available. If Bibimbab is mixed with ingredients of any kind, it will increase in volume only to lose its taste. And people in this country are increasingly losing their appetite for life because of the `fake Bibimbab` migrant politicians are serving.

Song Young-eon, Editorial Writer youngeon@donga.com