'Winter Sonata' icon Yonsama branches out to Korean cuisine



TOKYO - Even after all these years, it is impossible not to mention actor Bae Yong-jun, the 37-year-old hero of "Winter Sonata," when talking about the Korean pop culture boom in Japan.

In 2004 he rose to stardom there when the KBS drama, which began broadcasting here in 2002, became a mega hit in Japan. In the years since "Winter Sonata," none of Bae's other works have been as successful as his first. Nonetheless, he was greeted by 45,000 fans at Tokyo Dome last fall, when he hosted a promotional event for his latest book on Korean culture and tourism, "A Journey in Search of Korean Beauty."

Fifty-thousand copies of the first edition were sold on the day it was released. Among the fans who showed up at the promotional event was Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Known as an enthusiastic fan of Bae and Korean dramas, the Japanese first lady chatted with him for 10 minutes prior to the event.

In recent years, Bae has played a singular role in broadening the Korean pop culture boom into tourism and cuisine.



He has opened two Korean restaurants, plus a grocery store in Japan, all under the name of Gosireh. "Gosireh" is a combination of "Gosi," the name of the agricultural god who appears in Korea's founding myth, and the Chinese letter "reh," which means "politeness." The name is meant to emphasize the restaurant's determination to always put its customers first, explained Kim Mi-hea, a culinary researcher and public relations representative for all three stores.

In addition to Gosireh, Bae launched a traditional Korean barbeque restaurant called "Goshire Hwa" in Nagoya last year. Most recently, he opened "Goshire Gun" in the basement of Seibu Department Store in Tokyo last month.

Located at the heart of the large commercial and entertainment district called Ikebukuro, Seibu Department Store is a top retail giant owned by the Seibu Group, a company responsible for multiple railway lines in Tokyo.

The store specializes in Korean-style dishes, or "banchan," plus various different types of salads, "ssambab" (lettuce wraps) and "juk" (porridge).

Despite the fact Bae is something of a magnet attracting flocks of Japanese to Korean restaurants, Kim said Bae has never thought of using his popularity to promote his restaurants. Kim said Bae believes this would never help Korean cuisine gain mainstream popularity and that taste should be the only thing that matters in the restaurant business.

Before Gosireh, Bae also had a successful restaurant business in Korea. Gorilla in the Kitchen, a hip western restaurant located near Dosan Park in southern Seoul, is popular among young people for its herbal salads and sandwiches.

"The food cultures in the two countries have much in common, as both depend much on soy sauce (ganjang) and soy paste (doenjang)," Kim said. "What I think is missing from Korean cuisine is something to entertain eyes of customers while preparing food. We are working on it so you will be seeing it soon."

(danlee@heraldm.com)


By Lee Yong-sung Korea Herald correspondent

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/dat...00912310042.asp

[SAVOR KOREA (11)] Korean cuisine makes big strides in Japan



TOKYO - It was a rainy Saturday evening in early December when I made an unscheduled visit to Daejanggeum, a Korean restaurant located near Shin-Okubo Station in downtown Tokyo. Considering the location of the restaurant - situated just one station away from Shinjuku, Shin-Okubo houses one of the biggest "Korea towns" in Japan - it was surprising to see the restaurant full of happy Japanese diners at around half past eight.

Upon seeing the restaurant's sign, I presumed it must be one of many Korean restaurants in Japan, that have opened in recent years jumping on the bandwagon of the popularity of Korean pop culture in Japan. A hit 2003 MBC television series, "Daejanggeum" (Jewel In the Palace) is one of the flagship Korean dramas that swept Asia over the past several years.

Nearing the end of my tight first-day schedule in Tokyo, I just wanted to get a "big picture" of the recent changes in the status of Korean culinary culture for my future article, and the restaurant named "Daejanggeum" seemed to be the perfect place to hear about such changes.

Unfortunately, Shim Jae-dong, the 34-year-old owner of the restaurant, was preoccupied with customers packing the restuarant's 20 tables. About 80 percent of the customers were regulars, Shim said.






"Not-very-spicy Korean dishes such as dolsot bibimbap (bibimbap served in a very hot stone bowl, 850 yen or $9), haemul jijimi (seafood and vegetable pancake, 1,500 yen) and samgyetang (chicken and ginseng soup, 2,500 yen) are highly looked upon by Japanese customers," Shim told The Korea Herald.

It is hard to deny that the popularity of Korean entertainers in Japan has played a part in the success the restaurant, and Shim found no reason not to use it to attract customers. In one corner of the restaurant is a big-screen television playing episodes of the hit culinary drama set in Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Also hung on each of the walls are the pictures of actress Lee Young-ae in her Daejanggeum costume.

"We are also running a few fan communities for popular Korean entertainers including those for actor Bae Yong-joon, Song Seung-hun and pop group SG Wanabe," said Shim, a native of Seoul, who opened the restaurant in November 2004.

Certainly, not all Korean restaurants in Tokyo's "little Korea" that opened since the Korean pop culture boom of the early 2000s have been successful in winning the hearts of locals. In fact, a good portion of Korean restaurants in Shin-Okubo depend largely on Korean customers for revenue.

Shim says that one key ingredient to Daejanggeum's success is localization in service style.

"Food items are served as original as possible to traditional Korean recipes, but in terms of service style, we are closer to Japanese style, tailored more to the requirements of an individual customer," he added.

When serving dolsot bibimbap, for example, servers at the restaurant mix the ingredients in the pot for Japanese customers who are not accustomed to the Korean-style "bibim" (mixing) culture of food.

"Some Japanese customers, mostly strangers to Korean culinary culture, prefer to eat vegetables and steamed rice separately. We kindly explain how Koreans eat bibimbap but we never force our customers to do anything against their will," he said. "We never say 'no' to any trivial request of our customers."

Namdaemun Gimbap, another popular Korean restaurant in Korea town specializing in Korean-style fast food, or "bunsik," also cites personalized service as a key to successful business in Japan.

"We allow our customers to decide the degree of spiciness for some spicy Korean dishes including "sundubujjigae" (soft tofu stew, 850 yen), said a waiter at the restaurant who wished to remain anonymous.

Korean foods in Japan are far from cheap by standards back home, as a bowl of ordinary "jjajangmyeon" (Korean-style Chinese black bean noodles) is served at 750 yen (about 9,600 won). The busik restaurant with classy and modern decor, however, is sought after by young Japanese students until late at night.

"I tried jjajangmyeon today. I have also tried Chinese jjajangmyeon before but I like this one," said Miyuki Sakai, a Japanese housewife who had come all the way from Yokohama to eat Korean food with her husband.

An ardent fan of Korean television dramas, Sakai both shyly and proudly showed off a two-year table calendar she had purchased that day at a nearby Korean shop, one of which featured Bae Yong-joon and the other showing Rain.

It was initially the popularity of Korean pop culture that upgraded the status of Korean cuisine in the Japanese culinary world, but with or without such cultural trends, Korean food is now making big strides rapidly in the mainstream Japanese dining experience.

"Korean food has such huge growth potential in overseas markets, as huge as the variety of cooking methods used for it," said Kim Mi-hoe, manager of Gosire Korean restaurant.

Owned and run by Bae Yong-joon, who is affectionately called "Yonsama" by Japanese fans, the restaurant located in Tokyo's Shirogane area is said to be a "must see" among Japanese celebrities.

Its VIP room "Sarangchae" is fully booked for many months to come and the price of its luxury Korean courses are from 20,000 yen to 30,000 yen (up to 50,000 yen for special orders).

"It is pretty expensive, but considering the quality of food and service, I think the price is reasonable," Kazuko Yamamoto, a 56-year-old regular customer of the restaurant, said. "I first came here as a fan of Yonsama, but these days I come here to enjoy authentic Korean-style dishes more than anything else. My only complaint about Korean food is that it is much harder to see smiles on the faces of employees at Korean restaurants than other ethnic restaurants in Tokyo."

(danlee@heraldm.com)


By Lee Yong-sung Korea Herald correspondent


http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/dat...00912310043.asp

Bae’s Food Chain in Japan

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Hallyu superstar Bae Yong-joon, who has been actively promoting Korean food and culture recently, will open the third outlet of his Korean food chain in Japan, Friday.

The ``Winter Sonata'' hero will launch Goshire Gun in the basement of Seibu Department Store in Tokyo. The store will sell Korean dishes including salads, ``ssambab'' (lettuce wraps) and ``juk'' (porridge), among others.

In 2006 the actor, affectionately called ``Yonsama'' by Japanese fans, opened Goshire, a traditional Korean restaurant, in Shirogane, Tokyo. Last year he launched a traditional Korean bar, Goshire Hwa, in Nagoya.

Bae also has Korean lunchboxes, called Goshire Bento, being sold in major Japanese convenience stores. Featuring 16 dishes from Korea's ancient Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D. 668) such as ``bulgogi'' and kimchi, the lunch sets sell at 2,500 yen (about $26), the highest that any lunchbox has been priced in Japan.

He also has a successful restaurant business in Korea. Gorilla in the Kitchen, located near Dosan Park, Sinsa-dong, is popular among young crowds for its herbal salads and sandwiches.

The 37-year-old rose to stardom in Japan and other Asian countries through the melodrama ``Winter Sonata.'' In September he and his co-star Choi Ji-woo took part in a large promotional event at Tokyo Dome to promote an animated version of the TV series.

hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr