[Kitchen Talk]Wild berries, puppies and mountain bears

U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens owns two sabsal, a type of Korean dog. She bought them in Hongcheon, Gangwon. By Jeong Chi-ho

Just get me a piece of huckleberry pie. Not that I have tasted one. But I take U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens’ word that huckleberries are tastier than cloudberries - refer to the Norweigian cuisine column if you’re not sure what cloudberries are.

She’s a big fan. This Christmas she got huckleberry pie, made from huckleberries grown in Montana, for all her close friends.

Her first encounter with huckleberries was in Montana in 1974. She would go hiking and pick the berries that grew wild there.

Her brother lived in the area and Stephens would visit from Korea, where she was a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1970s during her free time in the summer.

“My most important contribution to making huckleberry pie is picking the berries,” says Stephens, half-joking.

Honey made from huckleberries.

So while the ambassador is busy riding around Seoul in her black Cadillac flanked by aides, come huckleberry-picking time, she’s a woman transformed.

“Huckleberries are so rare that restaurants can’t make a living off them. Instead, they’re usually for eating at home. You can make pies and pancakes with them. You can make anything, actually,” she says.

Like cloudberries from Norway, huckleberries don’t grow in vast quantities. They can take up to 15 years to mature.

As the ambassador describes her summers spent hunting for wild berries in the mountains, my mouth began to water. I saw a certain shimmer in her eyes when she talked about those days. If I’ve learned one thing in this business it’s that you can almost always tell when a person is being sincere. I was witnessing genuine affection.

“You see bears when you go picking for huckleberries because they are one of a bear’s main food sources,” she says, in a matter-of-fact tone that belied the danger. I was thinking she might have seen squirrels and rabbits, but bears?

This proves further my theory that Ambassador Stephens is a woman to watch. Literally.

The newly minted ambassador is not your average country representative when it comes to understanding Korea. She’s served two stints here since the 1970s in both a civilian and in official capacity.

A gingerbread man.

Her timing is perfect to create something new. Most sensitive issues such as the relocation of the U.S. forces have been cleared to some extent. The U.S. Embassy still needs to move, but other than that, I don’t see any sensitive issue that could become a catalyst for anti-U.S. sentiment.

There are cooler heads in place now that Korea-U.S. ties have reached some degree of status quo, if we can set aside rows over free trade.

This means Stevens is in a strong position to engage in a people-to- people process that will take the bilateral ties more to the love side of the love-hate relationship.

“We are looking at expanding or replicating the Fulbright English teaching assistance program or starting something similar,” she says. “Personally, I would like to see more ways for former Peace Corps volunteers to work with young Korean volunteers.”

Stephens also mentions the Work, English, Study, Travel program that both Seoul and Washington envision will become a new way to increase personal exchanges. But now the economy is on the blink, is the program still feasible?

“It’s more challenging but when I talk to people, there is a sense to go ahead and place the students and get the program going,” she says.

Moving on to other topics, I didn’t bother to ask her what her favorite Korean dish was. A person who wishes Korean newspapers used more Chinese characters like in the old days probably has more insight than many so-called experts, parachute journalists who stay a couple of days and then write whatever they want.

When people visit countries they take souvenirs, such as key chains and the like. In case of the ambassador it’s safe to say that her connection to the country is more cemented. She is the proud owner of two sabsal, a type of Korean dog, which she got from an acquaintance in Hongcheon, Gangwon. The dogs are called Yeoyu and Mushim, a friendly reminder of her time here.

Since the days of former Ambassador Christopher Hill, I have been going back and forth to the U.S. ambassador’s residency trying to get some news out of any interview.

When I went to see Ambassador Stephens, I knew I would be hitting on some sensitive issues, but due to the political timing I’d be getting no answers.

Slices of Christmas pie.

Washington might ask Seoul to provide military aid to Afghanistan and people want to know how Obama’s administration will deal with North Korea.

“I talked with the South Korean government about Afghanistan but there hasn’t been anything specific decided yet,” said the ambassador.

“Would you be happy if Seoul offered to send troops to Afghanistan?” As I spoke, I was quietly hoping she would say “yes” and I would have a front-page material.

But she doesn’t bite. “We look forward to talking with Seoul about what would make sense. With a new administration coming in, this is a time for looking at all these things with fresh eyes.”

I still remember what Victor Cha, the former director for Asian affairs in the White House’s National Security Council, told me in an interview two years ago when I asked him about Seoul’s contribution to Iraq.

Korean troops, albeit special forces, had not engaged the enemy as they were safely tucked away in relatively peaceful Irbil in Kurdish-controlled, northern Iraq.

Still, Cha said the deployment changed the perception of Seoul in Washington.

Korea was highly regarded as an ally but certainly not in the same league as some others.

The word Cha used was “wow” when Washington heard about Seoul’s commitment.

Barely two months here, the ambassador is still carefully treading around town, but I think she will soon discover that the public here loves to interact with a person like her.

When she gives talks at schools, she will have a very similar experience to that of her predecessor, Alexander Vershbow, who was greeted like a rock star.

The younger generation no doubt takes a more critical view of the bilateral relationship. But people can be like sponges: willing to absorb anything and then make their own decisions.

In any case, sincere messages get through and the ambassador’s philosophy is a fitting one. “I want to make sure that I keep speaking Korean and just engage people. I encourage my people to do the same. Once people think a foreigner like me speaks Korean they come up and talk to me.”

I hope her approach doesn’t get lost in the political maneuvering any ambassador has to indulge in.

As for me, I know exactly what I want next Christmas. A huge huckleberry pie.

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