I have already written about so-called French food which I'm unfamiliar with, or KTX trains which, on the other hand, look very familiar (about that, just a follow-up to what I said about KTX being on time and TGV being late, it looks like it's not getting any better). But French things are virtually everywhere in Korea, I mean things that are actually French this time, and it's sometimes a little unexpected. First off, Koreans seem to know a lot about France. I have already mentioned the people who talk to me about Napoleon or Charles de Gaulle, when I'm pretty sure hardly anybody in France would be able to name Korean presidents or historical figures. I was even more surprised the other day when Her mentioned the Edict of Nantes, a law about religious tolerance promulgated in 1598 which is a landmark in French history. I bet that if I asked my middle-school nephew and niece they wouldn't know the first thing about it. And it's not only about high culture. One day in the street I heard a song which was familiar to me and which turned out to be the soundtrack of a French movie called "La Boum". When I mentioned that to Her, I learned that this movie is actually quite popular in Korea (I would tend to think in France it's now considered a little kitschy but I may be wrong). And then I realised Her also knew about Jordy, the 5-year-old French "singer" who sold hundreds of thousands of records in the 1990s! The icing on the cake was when I heard Her humming the melody of a song by Soeur Sourire (aka The Singing Nun), "Dominique", which is also considered very kitschy in France and which I hadn't heard in forever. Apparently it was quite a big hit in Korea too.
Less surprisingly, you can come across French brands and products when shopping for luxury goods and cosmetics. However, I didn't expect to find Louis Vuitton underwear and plastic bags at the Nampodong street market in Busan, but I suspect these are counterfeit or fake products. About cars, although most of the cars here are Korean (Hyundai, Kia, Samsung), you occasionally come across French cars. What I find surprising is that they (especially Peugeot and Citroën) seem to be considered "premium brands". There's a car repair shop in our neighborhood whih is specialized in premium cars, and a sign on the storefront says "BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Maseratti, Range Rover, Jaguar, and Peugeot". Spot the odd one out! As for Renault, well you can see a lot of their cars in Korea, except they're called Samsung. However, sometimes you'll find some with the Renault badge, which once again makes them look a little more "premium." Go figure...
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| The Samsung QM3, which to me is a Renault Captur |
Finally, let me talk about food once again. I didn't expect to find Kiri cheese in Korea.
It was also a surprise that it's presented as "new", when for me it's actually something that brings back memories of my childhood (and I'm no spring chicken). Here is a Kiri commercial that was quite popular in France in the late 1980s, with a melody that really sticks in your head.
If you want more French things in Korea, you may want to visit the French district in Seoul, called Seorae Maeul. It doesn't actually feel like France, but it's true that it's a place with a special atmosphere to it, with a lot of bakeries, restaurants and cafés. You'll also find the French School of Seoul there. They even have a park named Parc Montmartre there.
To top it off, I have come to learn that Koreans too eat frogs. I don't really know how they're cooked, all I know is I have seen shops selling frogs at Bujeon covered market in Busan. To think that we French people are known as frog eaters all around the world !
To be honest, even though I'm French, I find this a little disguting. Speaking of which, I can't help smiling when I see restaurants selling 대구탕 (dae-gu-tang). It's cod fish stew and it's probably very tasty, the problem is it sounds like the French word "dégoûtant", meaning "disgusting".
