A taste of Korean hospitality

Dipti Nair
Doha
Generally, while meeting foreign diplomats, one is especially mindful of one's conduct. And so was I, when I visited the residence of the Korean Ambassador to Qatar HE Heung-Kyeong Park. The Ambassador's residence, located just behind the embassy, was lush with plants - green and flowering even in the hot weather. The house itself, tastefully decorated, exuded warmth. But nothing could be warmer than the welcome I received from the highest diplomat of the country and his wife. The Ambassador's wife, Serena, looking very elegant in the traditional Korean dress Hanbok, welcomed me, quite literally with open arms.
I got a further taste of Korean hospitality as I sat down to sample some authentic Korean desserts including green tea cake, crispy puffed rice cake and the cooling Omija tea. Omija meaning five different tastes and made using the Schisandra berry popular in Korea, is a medicinal beverage.
"Koreans prefer desserts with a lower level of sweetness and because of this, Korean sweets are not very popular. But we have a large range of cakes and other desserts. There are around 100 varieties of rice cakes alone," explained Serena."Korean food is generally healthy and the ingredients are balanced in terms of nutrients and low in fat. Korean dishes such as Bulgogi (marinated barbequed beef), Chapchae (potato noodle salad), Bibimbap (rice with vegetables) and Kimchi are globally known."
While Serena is from Seoul, Ambassador Park is from the southern part of Korea. They have been in Qatar for nearly two years now. They have two university-going sons who are studying in Korea.
"I realised that the Arabic word for Ambassador, 'safir', has the same root as that of the word travel 'safara'. As a diplomat, I have travelled across many countries from USA to UK, Libya, Australia, Thailand and Israel-Palestine, mostly working at Korean embassies and developing bilateral relations between the host country and Korea. Before coming to Qatar as Ambassador, my job was confined to specific areas such as political, economical, cultural and consular, depending on my role. But here, I am involved in every project right from the start and because of this I feel a sense of accomplishment I never felt before," said Ambassador Park.
"I have travelled everywhere with my husband," said Serena."And wherever I have been, I have made efforts to learn more about the culture and lives of the local people and have been actively involved in various community activities. With each experience, my viewpoint of the world and the people has developed to become more balanced and that I feel is my achievement."
Ambassador Park feels that there are many similarities between Qataris and Koreans mostly family values and respect for tradition.
"With any culture different from our own, we prefer to look for common ground rather than concentrate on the differences. While Koreans have lost the virtue of family values and tradition in the course of industrialisation, Qataris cherish them. I am much impressed that even the Qatar National Vision 2030 pays attention to the preservation of traditional values," he said.
Serena added,"Qatari women especially are very active and creative and are looking for ways to be independent and find fulfillment in life. Last year, during the Doha book fair, I was invited to 'talk with the authors'. I was very pleased to see many talented women involved in creative activities such as writing novels, poetry and script, and composing music. I would like Korean and Qatari women to increase their interaction in cultural areas."
There are around 2,000 Korean nationals living and working in Qatar. But they mostly tend to stick to their own and do not have much interaction with the local communities. Ambassador Park says that one of his missions is to introduce Korean culture to Qatar and to create interaction between the communities.
"Koreans, like Qataris, are fond of culture and there are many talented and creative Korean artists active across the world. We have tried to introduce Korean culture here as much as possible. In 2015, a Korean traditional dance troupe and modern B-Boy dancing group 'Expression' jointly performed at Katara. The event was a huge success. In 2016, Korean media artist Lee Lee Nam successfully exhibited his video artworks at Katara in cooperation with Asan Gallary for one month. It was further extended by one month because of its popularity. And last November, the Korean Embassy hosted a joint concert by countertenor David Dong Qyu Lee, pianist Sonja Park and Korean musicians of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. We called it the Omnibus concert," he said.
The Embassy is also in the process of organising a Korean Food Festival towards the end of the year, which will be held in collaboration with the local Korean restaurants in Doha and will feature Korean dishes, desserts and street food. The event will also see performance of a popular Korean band which creates music using kitchen utensils and cutlery.
"Another thing Qatar and Korea have in common is calligraphy. We are in the process of inviting Korean calligrapher Han Hankuk, who has drawn a Qatar peace map using around 5,000 Korean letters with each character being 1cm x 1cm in size. We are in talks with Sheikh Faisal Museum to have it displayed," said Ambassador Park.
"We really would like to give communities here a feel of Korean culture and tradition. In fact, every other year we organise New Year's Day celebration on our embassy premises," said Serena.
New Year's Day is a big celebration in Korea, when people get up early in the morning and dress in traditional clothes and bow to the elders, who in turn give presents to the youngsters. The whole family then joins together to have Korean rice cake soup 'Teokguk', a ritual which is believed to add one more year to your age. Then, they would play 'Yutnori' a traditional Korean board game. Another game traditionally played is Chagi Chagi, where you have to bounce a toy (chagi) using your leg.
These toys were kept on display at the residence and Ambassador Park himself demonstrated how the games were played, literally jumping to kick and bounce Chagi on one leg.
The Ambassador who proved his fitness and agility playing Chagi Chagi said that the sport he enjoys the most is fishing.
"In Korea, fishing becomes a luxury as there is no proper fishing area near where I am from. Here our residence is just next to the sea and I enjoy trying my luck with the fish. Every season I manage to catch a good number of hammour. In fact, this season, in just four days I caught two large hammour, so that is indeed an achievement for me."
While the couple has completely adapted themselves to life in Qatar and fostering bilateral relations, they are also keeping their culture alive and integrating it into the community here. But at the same time, they do miss home. Like most expatriates, what they miss the most is their family and friends back in Korea and the time they used to spend together.
"Korea is very advanced in traditional medical treatments. Occasionally, I suffer from backache and at those times I really miss Korean traditional treatments that used to bring relief to me very effectively. Also, the Korean floor heating system is very advanced. In Qatar, especially during the nights in winter, I miss that warmth of the floor in a Korean house," said Serena.
In Korea, Screen Golf is very popular and Serena who is proficient in the game, said that is another thing that she misses a lot along with mountain climbing, which is a favourite sport in the country surrounded by mountains.
Korea may have a tumultuous history, but the country is rich in heritage and culture and the people warm and kindly. I came away from this meeting with the Ambassador and his wife with a smile on my face and joy in my heart.