Dae Jang Geum

Jewel in the Palace fever surely has swept the land, but no one was more overwhelmed by the popularity of GMA Network’s top-rating primetime Koreanovela in the Philippines than the stars of the show themselves, Mi-Kyung Yang (who plays Lady Han) and Jeong-Eun Cho (who plays the young Jang Geum), who visited Manila last March 22. They left on March 24.

“I’ve heard that Jewel in the Palace is popular in the Philippines, but when I went here, that’s when I really felt it,” an ever-smiling Jeong-Eun Cho, 10, gushed as she spoke to Tess Bomb through an interpreter during her interview for the GMA-7 morning talk show SIS.

“That’s why we’re here, to thank the Filipinos,” says Yang also through an interpreter during the interview she did for the showbiz talk show Startalk. She and Cho said that learning of the show’s popularity in the country was the primary reason for their visit. “I would like to thank the Filipinos for their support for the show and making it no.1,” said the actress who plays the well-loved Lady Han, the wise and compassionate mentor of Jang Geum (Lee Young Ae), the show’s lead character.

Little did they know that they would experience the intensity of the Jewel in the Palace fever in the country first-hand. They were surprised and overwhelmed by the throng of supporters that attended the Koreanovela Day last March 23. Over 8,000 fans flocked to the Market! Market! Activity Center at Fort Bonifacio to see Lady Han and young Jang Geum in the flesh. Some of the fans even wore hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) to the event. The crowd enjoyed the mini-show that GMA-7 prepared for them as they patiently waited for the appearance of the Korean stars. Yang and Cho happily shared to the GMA staff afterwards how happy they were that so many Filipinos came to the Fans Day.

Jewel fans would be delighted to learn that both Korean stars find their characters in the series as something similar to how they are in real life. “I have many similarities with my character in the drama [Lady Han]. In fact, that’s really pretty much how I am. The only difference is that Lady Han lived then, while I live in the present, and I am not a palace girl,” Yang imparts readily. Likewise, Cho says, “I am outgoing and persistent, just like the young Jang Geum in the series.”

Both of them also love cooking. Yang often cooks for her family, and even asked Tess Bomb during the interview for SIS if she would like her to cook for them. Cho feels she is old enough to cook, and in fact enjoys doing so. She can cook simple dishes like noodle soup. Yang couldn’t help but serve Nelson Canlas a la Lady Han when he was letting her sample traditional Filipino dishes during a coverage for 24 Oras.

Meanwhile, the series’ lead actress, Lee Young Ae, wanted to join her costars to their trip to Manila but was held up in Seoul by other commitments. Yet the hosts of GMA-7’s talk shows in which her costars appeared like Startalk, S-Files, SIS, and news programs 24 Oras and Unang Hirit wasted no time in asking them what Lee Young Ae is like in person. Cho said, “She is nice and kind to all and her skin is as fair and pure as her heart.” Meanwhile, Yang shares, “She is beautiful inside and out. Jewel in the Palace is the third series in which we starred together, but we became even closer after we did this, and that was already three years ago.”

Both Korean stars said that they would surely like to come back to the Philippines soon. “I would love to come back here with my son and the rest of my family for vacation, to see the famous beaches,” said Yang. It seems Yang and Cho have fallen in love with the Philippines and its people in the short time that they’ve been in the country, just as much as the Pinoys have fallen in love with the characters they play in Jewel in the Palace. And while the viewers no longer see their characters in the series, the mark they have left in the hearts of viewers remain, as proven by the warm welcome they were given during their visit. It would surely be more of a delight watching the Korean series on GMA-7’s primetime block now that Pinoys have seen their much-admired stars in the flesh.

Jewel in the Palace airs weeknights after My Name is Kim Sam Soon on GMA Telebabad.

Source: Manila Standard April 01 - 02, 2006

Even after the boom of Korean telenovelas in the country, such as “Jewel in the Palace” which frequently featured the exquisite cuisine of Korea, kimchi remains the most popular Korean dish in the Philippines. Like mangga, kamatis at bagoong or atchara, kimchi also found a place in Filipino tables because of its power to complement most dishes it is eaten with, making eating more exciting and enjoyable.

Korean Food Preservation

Korea’s affinity for food preservation is due to their climate; it has very cold winters. As early as the 7th Century, Koreans already started pickling their vegetables. They called the preserved vegetables (preserved with salt) yumjang; preservation ensured that they would have vegetables in their meals even during winter when vegetables are hardly available. Food preservation was so important to Koreans that even today, in apartment buildings with limited space, Korean families still keep rows of preserving jars in the spacious part of their houses.

Kimchi Notes

Kimchi does not only use cabbage as its main ingredient; as early as the 12th century, it was already made of pickled vegetables. Some of the vegetables used then were radish, cucumber and eggplant. According to Koreans, there is a historical record that shows that during the last part of the 17th century, there were already eleven types of kimchi. In fact, there are other types of kimchi that are not made of vegetables, like fruit, squid, and fish kimchi.

Actually, kimchi made from cabbage came only in the 19th century, when traders brought the vegetable to Korea. From then on, cabbage kimchi became very popular.

Kimchi came from the word chimchae which means preserved vegetables with salt; with that, the word developed and was changed to dimchae-kimchae-kimchi. And these days, it was already shortened to kimchi.

However, there are also other writings that state that the word came from chim-chae which means “submerged vegetable,” and was also known as gimchi or kimchee. The Japanese people have their own version of kimchi that is according to Japanese tastes and they call it “kimuchi.”

In the early days, kimchi, called yumjang, was just salted vegetables but, later on, was developed with the addition of other ingredients like garlic, onions, carrots, ginger and fish sauce. It was only in the 18th century that chili pepper (today chili powder) was added in the pickling mixture. Chili pepper came to the knowledge of the Koreans through the influence of Portuguese, Spanish and other Western explorers. The addition of chili pepper made kimchi more delicious and popular.

The mentioned mixture was then spread to the chosen main ingredient and sealed in jars, and allowed to ferment for about two weeks to a month (the longer the better).

Because of kimchi’s unique taste it was used in other Korean dishes and served as part of regular dishes such as kimchi soup, kimchi fried rice and others. The origin of kimchi may not be certain but what’s important is that kimchi has brought joy to Korean tables and today has spread out to other countries.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Fukuoka Miyuki waits patiently with shopping bags in hand as his wife scours a street vendor’s cart for the perfect pair of socks — bearing the image of her perfect man.

This is no love that dares not speak its name. Miharu Miyuki, 59, will be proud to have the smiling face of actor Bae Yong-Jun adorn her feet. “He is wonderful, great,” she says, as her husband nods with more than a touch of resignation.

Mrs. Miyuki is from Japan, and until recently, she and her daughter Saita, 32, had little interest in Korea. But then Korean soap operas such as Winter Sonata, in which Mr. Bae portrays an amnesiac who falls in love with a woman who may be his half-sister, began to sweep viewers off their feet, first across Asia and more recently across the Pacific.

“We came here because of the television program,” admits Saita Miyuki. “It’s very popular in Japan. We watch it over and over again.”

Much like the British Invasion did in the 1960s, the Korean Wave, known as Hanryu, has been instrumental in reviving tourism and sparking interest throughout the region in all things Korean, from food to culture and history.

Middle-aged Japanese women now refer to the bespectacled Mr. Bae as “Yonsama” (a regal honorary title), and weep like teenagers at his public appearances. One stall in Seoul’s Namdaemun Market sells nothing but items with his face on them, from key chains to journals detailing “daily housework duties.”

Needless to say, the South Korean government is thrilled with the money that Hanryu brings in. Overseas sales of film and television programs have soared, doubling from 2004 to 2005 alone. Nearly six in 10 visitors from southeast Asia come here because of the Wave, according to a survey by the Korean National Tourism Organization.

What’s the big appeal? University of British Columbia anthropology professor Millie Creighton says the soap operas rekindle in viewers a passion for the past.

“In most of these countries, many scholars have written about a resurging nostalgia that seems to have taken hold just around the time they became fully industrialized, modernized and highly westernized,” says Prof. Creighton, who currently teaches in Japan.

“Suddenly, in each case, there seems to be a reverse longing for what might have been lost and a sense of potentially having lost their ‘Asian-ness.’ ”

Inspired by this surging nostalgia, tour operators now offer visits to the sites associated with Winter Sonata and Korea’s other big soap, Jewel in the Palace, which features a maid who rises to become the king’s cook and physician.

Tourists can visit locations where the shows were filmed and re-enact various scenes. On Nami Island, for example, Winter Sonata fans walk along the trail where Mr. Bae’s character and his potential sibling had their first kiss by the lake and rode a bicycle together.

At the Jewel in the Palace set in Yangju City on the outskirts of Seoul — in effect, a television theme park that draws more than 800 visitors a day — they can pretend to serve time in prison for serving up poisoned duck.

Park employee Yeon-Im Kang, who serves up traditional Korean fish cakes to hungry tourists, says she often wonders if the popularity of Jewel will eventually fizzle.

“I was worried because we had almost run out of countries,” she explains. “We’ve had people from Vietnam, from the Philippines, from Singapore. Of course, lots from Japan and China. Even some from Europe.”

A friend pointed out to her that no one had come from North America — and then last month, Ms. Kang was pleased to see a busload of Canadians arrive.

“They told me they were starting to see the show in Canada and that’s why they wanted to come to the site,” she recalls. “I was surprised, but it’s good for business that people everywhere are coming.”

And it’s true that the soaps are beginning to make waves in Canada. Chinese video stores in Vancouver report long waiting lists for rentals, and when the shows appear on satellite TV, the ratings are huge.

Then again, there are signs the Korean Wave may soon crash — and its downfall may stem in part from what has made it so strong.

One Japanese tourist says she initially was attracted to Jewel because it is based on a true story, and then decided to make the trek to Yangju City when she learned of the links between her country and Korea.

“I’m able now to see how the culture transferred to Japan from China through Korea. It was good to learn something I never knew before,” Akiko Fujida explains. “We didn’t think too much about it, but the show has taught us how cultures are connected from things that happened hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”

That connection, however, is too close for some — and a backlash against the Korean Wave has begun. China and Taiwan, for example, now limit the number of hours Korean dramas can air in prime time.

Jewel director Byung-Hoon Lee says he isn’t surprised “I understand. They are worried that too much foreign culture is getting to their people. I had that worry, too, about it happening in Korea, and that’s why I wanted to do Jewel in the Palace.”

He was motivated, he says, by a desire to educate a younger audience. “A lot of today’s youth thought their history was the U.S. history or some other country’s history. I thought this wasn’t right and I wanted to give them a sense of Korean history and culture,” says Mr. Lee, who is now filming a new historical drama.

“Now people in other countries think there’s too much Korean culture, and I know those countries will do the same. Next will be the Philippine Wave or the Vietnam Wave. We’ve had our time, and people will move on.”

Source: globeandmail 1/7/2006