For GM Daewoo president, bossam was love at first bite

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For GM Daewoo president, bossam was love at first bite

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Mike Arcamone, president and chief executive of GM Daewoo Auto and Technology, holds up a piece of bossam after a cooking secession at the Asian Live restaurant’s open kitchen. By Oh Sang-min

One of life’s great pleasures for Mike Arcamone, president and chief executive of GM Daewoo Auto and Technology, is strolling through the traditional streets of Insa-dong, central Seoul. He enjoys looking around pottery shops and art galleries, and every so often a stop at a small teahouse.

Another of Arcamone’s pleasures is food. What fascinates Arcamone are the small open stalls that sell steamed dumplings, hotteok (sweet pancakes stuffed with brown sugar) and chestnuts. And when he gets hungry from all that walking, Arcamone makes his way to traditional restaurants that serve one of his favorites, boiled pork belly wrapped in cabbage kimchi, or bossam.

“When I had my first bite of bossam in 2005 in Korea, it was very tasty, because in my background, we also cook with pork and make it very spicy in Italy,” Arcamone said.

The president and chief executive is Italian by origin and Canadian by citizenship.

“Some of the tastes were very similar to the dish my ancestors used to make using a leaf of cabbage and stuffing it with shredded meat, rice, and hot pepper.”

Curiosity and a desire to learn the recipe behind bossam led Arcamone to Asian Live restaurant’s open kitchen in Samseong-dong.

Chef Kang Youn-kyung from COEX InterContinental Seoul was there to help Arcamone make his first Korean dish.

Kang started the session by explaining to Arcamone what ingredients go into bossam - pork belly and herbs such as ginger, laurel leaves and whole cinnamon leaves.

Before preparing radish kimchi, which tends to be sweeter than normal kimchi, Arcamone put 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of pork belly into boiling water and then added ginger, and beer, which helps remove the smell of meat. He then left it simmering on low heat.

Arcamone was absorbed in the process of cooking, as it is one of his hobbies. On weekends, he makes homemade Italian noodles from scratch using flour and eggs.

While the pork was simmering, Arcamone expressed his love for Korean food, calling it “slow food” and a “well-kept secret.”

“There are not so many cuisines around the world that you could say people spent time cooking it,” Arcamone said. “None of the [Korean] food is microwaveable. It’s cooked slowly, which gets all the flavors out, bringing the best of the food.”

Arcamone said more marketing is needed to make hansik international.

“[It] is all about marketing,” he said. “You have to market what the cuisine brings. Korean cuisine brings a lot of flavors. It’s spicy [and] hearty with a lot of vegetables.”

Around the world, people hear about different types of Italian or Polish soup, but not about Korean soup, Arcamone explained.

“Also, why are Korean dumplings not known as much as Italian ravioli around the world? The taste is similar, because there are stuffed vegetables inside. The difference is in marketing,” he said.

Arcamone knows what he’s talking about. His company, GM Daewoo, has been looking for ways to efficiently market auto products to local and overseas consumers.

Last month when the automaker launched the midsize luxury sedan Alpheon in Korea, Arcamone said the company will launch seven more new models within the next 12 months. The bold schedule is a first for the company.

He noted similarities between GM Daewoo and Korean food in terms of constant exposure and bringing in new marketing techniques.

“You have to keep the product fresh - both in the cuisine and vehicle.”

As Arcamone expressed his thoughts on Korean food, the pork belly finished boiling and was ready to be sliced into pieces.

“Bossam takes a long time to simmer - it’s not fast food,” he said.

He also explained that boiling pork belly and building cars are similar in terms of the step-by-step manufacturing process.

“You can get efficient in manufacturing a car, which is also the case when boiling pork. You can use a pressure cooker to boil faster.”

At last, the bossam was ready to taste. Arcamone used chopsticks to pick up a piece of pork belly wrapped in fermented kimchi, put some spicy radish on top, and savored the taste.

Mike Arcamone

*President and CEO, GM Daewoo Auto & Technology (since October 2009)
*GM Powertrain Europe vice president
*Executive director, Supplier Quality and Development within Global Purchase, Supply Chain
*Plant manager at the St. Therese plant in Canada; Livonia, Michigan; and Flint, Michigan
*Holds bachelor of commerce degree in business administration from Concordia Univ. in Montreal and a diploma in business management from McGill Univ.


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