By Honorary Reporter Haslina Rameli from Malaysia

Photos= Haslina Rameli

This year marks the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between Korea and Malaysia. My interest in Korea, however, began just five years ago.

To youths, Korea is recognized for K-pop, TV dramas, travel and food. These fields also interest me except that I'm more into traveling to Korea for the cuisine. It all started with my favorite Korean variety show "Running Man," which features interesting places and authentic food around the country. That show made me fall in love with Korea.

Each of my seven trips to Korea has been a different experience, but the highlight of all of them was definitely the food. I am passionate about learning how to cook authentic Korean food such as bibimbap (hot rice with meat and vegetables), bulgogi (marinated grilled beef) and banchan (side dishes) so I attended a cooking class in Seoul. Dishes were surprisingly very easy to prepare.

When I returned to Malaysia, I cooked Korean food and shared it with my family and friends. Last year, I prepared bibimbap at a cooking demonstration for breast-feeding mothers. I wanted to inform Malaysians that Korean food is nutritious, easy to make and suitable for everyone. The audience was shocked that they could enjoy Korean food during their breast-feeding periods. 

I am pleasantly surprised to see in my country higher demand for a variety of Korean food, especially street food like tteokbokki (spicy rice cake), fried chicken and corn dogs. Many Korean restaurants and food stalls have opened in Malaysia to meet this rising demand. Korean food has offered job opportunities to locals here, and many Malaysians have started businesses specializing in Korean food.

Nowadays, every time I attend my company's monthly meeting, I bring Korean food or snacks to share with them. I prepared gimbap (seaweed roll) and brought a seaweed snack that I bought in Korea to the last meeting. Everyone asked for more. Also, my mom has started watching Korean cooking shows and even tries to cook Korean food with ingredients from Malaysia. Apart from good taste and being easy to prepare, Korean food has turned my mom into a creative cook.

As a Muslim, I often face challenges when it comes to food, especially when traveling to non-Muslim nations. I was mistakenly expecting the same when I went to Korea. Korean cuisine is known for seafood and vegetarian dishes, thus it is Muslim friendly (if no alcohol is used in cooking). Many halal-certified Korean foods such as kimchi, ramyeon and instant tteokpokki are now available in Malaysia. Last year, I was invited by the Halal Korea Consumers Union to make a presentation about the Muslim view of Korean Products at the International Agriculture Exhibition in Korea, namely Naju, Jeollanam-do Province. I was impressed with the crowd there who was very interested in knowing more about the halal issue. My presentation also gave investors a new export opportunity. I hope more halal-certified Korean food products are available in Malaysia as well as in Korea for Muslim travelers to enjoy.

A great memory of Korea kicked off my 2020. I was asked to collaborate with my Korean cooking teacher (from the cooking class I had attended before) to produce a Korean recipe book with halal-friendly tips for Muslim diners. The book seeks to help Muslims cook Korean food at home without the need to modify recipes.

My relationship with Korea is mainly because of its amazing food. I hope that both Malaysia and Korea will continue having good diplomatic relations to sustain our economies and see more joint success globally.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean