Secretary Kerry’s Visit to Seoul - A Taste of Korean Culture

[성김 대사]

Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry visited Seoul for the second time since becoming Secretary.  It was a very productive visit.  During his meetings with President Park and Foreign Minister Yun, the Secretary discussed a broad range of important issues, including North Korea and ways to promote bilateral economic partnership as well as global cooperation.  The leaders affirmed the strong U.S.-Korea alliance, and agreed to continue to strengthen our partnership in different areas.  Secretary Kerry very much appreciated the warm hospitality he experienced during this visit.

Secretary Kerry’s second official visit to Korea

Interestingly, the aspect of his visit that received the most media attention was his stop at Tong-in Market to eat tteokbokki.  Very often the schedules of high level visitors are so tight that they do not have the opportunity to walk around the city and experience the local culture.  This time, we wanted to make sure to include at least one brief cultural experience so that the Secretary sees an interesting aspect of Korea beyond meeting rooms at the Blue House and the Foreign Ministry.  We chose Tong-in Market for its rich history and its convenient location (between the Blue House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). 

To prepare, I visited the market in advance to try its renowned tteokbokki.  I have always enjoyed visiting local markets with my family, and I have been a big fan of tteokbokki since I was a child growing up in Seoul.  I was confident the Secretary would enjoy the experience.  

When the Blue House meeting began to run over the allotted time, I was worried that perhaps the Secretary would be forced to cut the Tong-in Market stop out of his schedule.  But after the meeting, the Secretary and I decided that we should still stop by the market on the way to the Foreign Ministry.  Foreign Minister Yun graciously agreed to delay the start of his meeting with the Secretary to give the Secretary the opportunity to visit the market.

Secretary Kerry enjoys tteokbokki at Tong-in Market.

The Secretary’s staff were concerned that he might not be able to tolerate the spiciness of the ttoekbokki, but he actually preferred the spicy version over the non-spicy version.  The Secretary also enjoyed the wonderful opportunity to chat with local shop owners and inquire about their lives.  He learned about one woman’s hope to meet her younger brother in North Korea through the North-South family reunions. 

A nice conversation with a shop owner who has family in North Korea

The visit to Tong-in Market provided Secretary Kerry with a unique opportunity to experience a little bit of Korean culture during his trip.  We hope to incorporate similar experiences for our visitors whenever possible.  Reflecting the robust partnership between our two countries, we continue to receive many senior and prominent visitors from Washington.  We are very excited that President Obama will be visiting Seoul again this spring.  Let me know if you have any special foods or restaurants to recommend to President Obama or any of our other visitors from Washington. 

[Mrs.Fields]

what tteokbokki is expensive?