[Kitchen Talk]German kimchi and reunification

Diplomacy

Published: 24 Nov. 2008, 23:03

[Kitchen Talk]German kimchi and reunification

German Ambassador Dr. Norbert Baas and his wife Dr. Annabel von Arnim-Baas at the German ambassador’s residence in Hannam-dong. By Jeong Chi-ho

If you’re going to have a chauffeur, don’t buy a BMW. That’s what a salesman once told me. The point was clear - this is a machine for drivers.

This point holds true for many German products. They are efficient and no-nonsense. And German cuisine follows a similar philosophy.

You won’t find the finesse of French food, but rather a combination of a hearty meat and a simple side of onion or potato. I don’t think I ever wondered what I had on my plate when I lived in Germany.

I spoke with German Ambassador Dr. Norbert Baas recently, and he recommended one German specialty that suits pretty much any occasion.

“One of our favored German dishes is what we call kaffee [coffee] and kuchen [cake]. Germans love to enjoy their coffee time in the afternoon with a sophisticated piece of cake or tarts in a cafe or coffee House,” said the ambassador. “On the whole, German cuisine has changed toward lighter meals with a French and Italian flavor. Gourmet restaurants are mushrooming all over Germany and they get high marks by all standards.”

Fittingly, his wife, Dr. Annabel von Arnim-Baas, offered me kaffee and kuchen when I visited their residence in Hannam-dong. Talking of her experience with the food here, she seemed to be the kind of person who is not afraid of venturing into the back alleys to try out the local street food. “I like all the seasoned greens and the tofu here. Sometimes I just go around and try different things,” she said. “I’m not talking about the real expensive restaurants here.”

Connoisseurs of food are also concerned with presentation. People who know their porcelain will be familiar with the Meissen products that the German Embassy here chooses to serve its guests on. With a history that goes back more than 300 years, Meissen porcelain is collected for its artistic value and displayed at museums around the world.

Sauerkraut with pineapple

As for the ambassador’s preferences when it comes to Korean food, I heard the much used “I love kimchi” phrase that one often gets from polite foreigners, but in his case it was much more believable. Germany, of course, has its very own style of kimchi - sauerkraut. Finely shredded cabbage with a distinctly sour flavor, sauerkraut is often served with sausages.

“Bibimbap with slightly burned rice and galbi [grilled pork ribs] are my other favorites,” added the ambassador.

For the average person on the street, Germany may be best known for its status as a soccer powerhouse with three World Cup wins and three second-place finishes under its belt. But you would also be hard pressed to find someone unfamiliar with the divisive aspects of its modern history that give it much in common with Korea.

Rolled beef with olives

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Germany finally reunified in 1990. One would think that, two decades after unification, the German ambassador would have much to tell about the experience. Asked how Germany circumvented political persecution and people trying to exert revenge on their former masters, the ambassador said, “There was no persecution. In some cases, lawsuits were filed against perpetrators of crimes,” the ambassador said. “And I have to add that there were no acts of revenge. At most some people were frustrated. But the overall majority was happy about the new situation.” The ultimate proof he offered was a story with overtones of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s recent victory in the American presidential elections.

Black Forest cake

“Do not forget that Chancellor Angela Merkel was born in the former East. I think there is no better proof that the Easterners have reached equality in every respect,” he underlined. Point taken. If the Korean Peninsula is unified with the South taking the lead, it would be a tremendous feat for a North Korean to take the highest office in the nation.

Today, German troops are deployed around the world, but nobody is raising a fuss about how this could raise the specter of the country’s checkered past. Imagine Japan pursuing a similar deployment of its military - it would be impossible under the current circumstances. All hell would break loose. That’s because after World War II, Germany took a very different path from Japan as far as appeasing its regional neighbors over the atrocities it committed in the past.

One example: In December of 1970, on his visit to Poland to sign the Warsaw Treaty, former German Chancellor Willie Brandt fell to his knees as he lay a wrath at the memorial for the Jews murdered in 1943 by SS units in the Warsaw Ghetto.

While Japan to this very day continues to dance around clearly stating what exactly it is sorry for, Germany parted from its past that very moment. Today, the country has become a responsible member of international society that is looked on to lead and to help others.

Tokyo earlier this month fired its Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff, Toshio Tamogami, who wrote in an essay that many Asian countries “take a positive view” of Japan’s past militarism, seeing Tokyo as a bulwark against Western imperialism. It’s periodical happenings like these that make neighboring countries view Tokyo with suspicion, despite its economic might.

Getting back to the question of unification, I asked how the process had gone in Germany. “On the whole, social integration went well. The young East German generation proved to be extremely motivated to live in a market economy. However, some East Germans of the older generation could no longer be employed since many of the big economic state-run companies needed to rationalize and that meant a loss of jobs” the ambassador said.

But Germany has a very strong social safety network with high pensions that probably compensated such people. Are we ready? Not even close.

As far as I know, Seoul hasn’t conducted an active study in cooperation with Germany on the aftermath of a possible reunification. Maybe it’s time to do just that. No one is really ready when another country is absorbing another. Ask the Germans.

By Brian Lee Staff Reporter [africanu@joongang.co.kr]