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With more than 200 Korean companies operational in the city, more than 4,000 Korean nationals living here — the highest among foreign nationals living in Chennai – and almost a dozen Korean restaurants – small and big – running to full houses, it’s not surprising that the community decided to give a Korean Bazaar a shot.
From bibimbap (fried rice) to bone soup, kimchi (spicy sour side dish) and and topokki (stir-fried rice cakes), to Korean craft, jewellery, stationery, and clothing, on August 16, between 3pm and 6pm, the grounds of the Santhome Higher Secondary School in Mylapore were a celebration of all things Korean. More than 25 food stalls, 20 stores of other products, it was no wonder that from the moment the market opened, the stores were flooded with visitors both Korean and Indian.
“There are more than 3,000 Koreans here and some of them are really hungry for Korean food. Ingredients are hard to find in the city, so we did have a large crowd at the Bazaar,” says Kim Moung Suk, who runs a Korean guest-house in Gopalapuram. Kim, who ran a ‘bone soup’ stall at the event, says she did not have much to do after 3.30pm because all her 100 packs of soup sold out in the first half hour of the bazaar. “The kimchi stall – where there were three to four types being sold – also had a huge crowd,” she says.
On one side of the market was a cooking demonstration of bibimbap in which several Indians also participated. Indians, Koreans, and people of other nationalities cooked the rice in a big vessel that was placed in the centre of the ground.
“The bazaar usually happens at the Korean Church in Perungudi,” says Kim. “But since Chennai got a Korean Mission this year, the Korean Association in Chennai and the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea have got together to organise the event on a much larger scale,” she adds, and mentions that the community has become more active this year. The Korean community participated in a Marina Beach clean-up campaign in April this year. Traditional Korean music, K-Pop hits and a Korean dance performance were the other highlights at the event.
“There are more than 3,000 Koreans here and some of them are really hungry for Korean food. Ingredients are hard to find in the city, so we did have a large crowd at the Bazaar,” says Kim Moung Suk, who runs a Korean guest-house in Gopalapuram. Kim, who ran a ‘bone soup’ stall at the event, says she did not have much to do after 3.30pm because all her 100 packs of soup sold out in the first half hour of the bazaar. “The kimchi stall – where there were three to four types being sold – also had a huge crowd,” she says.
On one side of the market was a cooking demonstration of bibimbap in which several Indians also participated. Indians, Koreans, and people of other nationalities cooked the rice in a big vessel that was placed in the centre of the ground.
“The bazaar usually happens at the Korean Church in Perungudi,” says Kim. “But since Chennai got a Korean Mission this year, the Korean Association in Chennai and the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea have got together to organise the event on a much larger scale,” she adds, and mentions that the community has become more active this year. The Korean community participated in a Marina Beach clean-up campaign in April this year. Traditional Korean music, K-Pop hits and a Korean dance performance were the other highlights at the event.
Aug 17 2014 : The Times of India (Chennai)
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