Going up: elevator exec high on chicken dish

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Going up: elevator exec high on chicken dish

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Otis Elevator Korea President and CEO Bradley Buckwalter presents one of his favorite Korean dishes samgyetang which he made at the Grand InterContinental Seoul’s main kitchen. By Jeong Chi-ho


It’s difficult nowadays to imagine what life would be like without the Internet, cell phones and e-mail.

Bradley Buckwalter, however, has a bit of a tough time envisioning a world without elevators and samgyetang, the famous Korean dish consisting of a whole chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng and other ingredients.

The former is understandable, as Buckwalter is the president and chief executive officer of Otis Elevator Korea. As for the latter, Buckwalter ties his devotion to the dish to its taste and health benefits.

“I just love it,” the 45-year-old said during an interview last week at the Grand InterContinental Seoul in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul as he prepared to learn how to cook samgyetang with assistance from hotel chef Kim Jae-sun. “As I get older and firmly move into middle-age, I’m focusing more on healthy foods. What I find is that samgyetang is one of the healthiest foods I’ve ever eaten. The chicken is very tender and tasty with the rice inside, and it is very easy to digest.”

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With the Korean government spurring efforts to promote the country’s cuisine to the world, Buckwalter sees samgyetang as one of the most promising candidates among the array of local dishes. Not only is it tasty, he says, it’s also a great choice for busy business executives working long hours.

Indeed, samgyetang is often regarded here in Korea as a seasonal dish that helps locals overcome the heat in the summer.

“The ginseng inside the chicken has a very nice flavor and it gives you energy, which is good for a person like me who has a demanding job,” he said. “I want to take care of my body and to be healthy. I probably eat it two or three times a month.”

Surprisingly, though, samgyetang isn’t even Buckwalter’s favorite Korean dish. Kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew, takes that honor.

But Amy Jackson, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, already cooked that dish as part of this series, so Buckwalter was forced to choose another.

Like Jackson, who is his friend, Buckwalter calls himself a huge fan of spicy food, in large part because he grew up in California, where cuisine is heavily influenced by Mexican dishes and is often spiced up with jalapenos and red peppers. In general, though, foreigners have a hard time getting used to the spiciness of kimchi jjigae, as many consider it an acquired - and somewhat unusual - taste, meaning it might not appeal to a larger crowd.

Samgyetang, however, is well suited for every type of palate, Buckwalter said.

“A Korean dish like kimchi jjigae appeals to people who want to take a risk and try new food,” he said. “But samgyetang isn’t that way.

“There are some Korean foods that almost all foreigners can eat and enjoy, and one of them is samgyetang. The average American will enjoy it because we have similar tastes at home. We already enjoy that kind of food,” he said, comparing the dish to chicken noodle soup, a popular meal in the U.S. for those who have a cold or are sick. The only big difference is that samgyetang is made with a full chicken and has rice and ginseng inside.

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While ginseng has been popular in Korea for a long time, it’s becoming a big hit in the United States, which could further add to the allure of samgyetang. When Buckwalter recently visited the U.S. to see his parents, he discovered some ginseng drinks and gum in their home.

Using a whole chicken also is something many in the U.S. can relate to.

“We’re also used to this because on Thanksgiving Day, we have a whole turkey on the table,” he said. “In the United States, I used to help my mother make turkey. You have to roast it for six to eight hours. So I think it’s similar in that samgyetang is probably very difficult to make [in terms of the time involves].”

Often, even the most appealing dishes are modified to cater to the tastes of foreigners, with some ingredients added and others left out.

But Buckwalter said that’s “absolutely not” necessary with samgyetang.

“Samgyetang as it is made here is wonderful and you don’t need to change anything,” he said. “And if you do try to change it, you will just make the taste worse. So if somebody’s going to make samgyetang for a foreigner, my advice is to just do prepare it like you would for Koreans.”

He thinks most people who have spent a lot of time in Korea feel the same way. Buckwalter, who is fluent in Korean, first arrived here in 1983, and since then he’s also worked in Singapore and Japan.

“The temptation might be to try to change it. If people don’t like Korean food as it is today, it’s because they have a problem, not that Korean food has a problem,” he said, suggesting that perhaps locals should have a bit more confidence in their food when promoting it on a global level. Buckwalter said that if he were thinking about opening a Korean restaurant he would likely focus on making samgyetang. In fact, he believes that the restaurant owner could double the price and people would still buy it because it’s so delicious.

After vocalizing his love of samgyetang, the conversation turned more serious as Buckwalter spoke about his company’s performance last year.

“Early in the year, I heard the president of Korea making a speech,” Buckwalter said. “He invited foreign business leaders, and he said that crisis is an opportunity. It struck me, and I believe that. So I strongly felt that if we managed the downturn correctly, we could create some good opportunities for the company.”

He explained that the company became determined to cut back on costs and overhead expenses to weather the economic storm.

Otis Elevator Korea was successful on that end, slashing expenses by around $10 million.

“Even though the overall elevator market in Korea dropped [last year], some areas were still very healthy,” he said. “When we targeted those areas, believe it or not - through a lot of hard work - we were able to increase orders. So what happens if you increase orders and you cut costs? You make more profits.”

Despite the tough circumstances, Otis Elevator Korea was able to beef up its bottom line last year, which Buckwalter calls “quite an achievement.”

The executive said market conditions and the overall global economy will continue to be issues this year. But the company is looking to move forward with several new business opportunities, including overseas expansion in niche markets such as China and Southeast Asia.

The future for the Korean elevator market is also bright, he said, as the country is very small geographically and therefore tall buildings are vital to save space. That, of course, is good for an elevator company. Additionally, as the buildings get taller with advances in construction technology, builders are looking for faster and quieter elevators.

“Making an elevator is very complex,” Buckwalter said, drawing a connection between his line of work and the dish he was about to prepare. “The longer I think about it, the more I see similarities between them. They’re both complicated products. They’re both difficult to make. You need very professional people to install elevators and to make samgyetang. I’m a normal guy and I love samgyetang, but I cannot make it on my own even though I love the food. I need a professional cook to guide me. Also, you need the top ingredients for samgyetang to make sure you get a delicious dish. At Otis, we use only the top components to make sure the machine is safe and gives a nice smooth ride.”


By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]
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