Even during this pandemic, when international tourists couldn't visit Korea even if they want to, it's Korea that visits them at home! Virtually, that is!
Over the years, I have blogged about my favorite Korean dishes: from soondae to buddae-jiggae, to seolleong-tang, to mandu, and even to my favorite duo, kimbap and cheese ramyeon (read blog here)!
And thanks to the Itaewon Global Village in the Yongsan District of Seoul, everyone - no matter where they live in the world - can learn how to cook Korean dishes without having to fly to Korea during this pandemic!🙇
On November 28, 2020, a Saturday, the Itaewon Global Village conducted the online class featuring the CEO of a Korean food company, Naturellemente, Ms. Lee Mi-Gyeong.
Ms. Lee taught her online students how to make everyone's favorite, japchae, and my favorite street food, hotteok.
Japchae was the chosen dish because the ingredients required were easy to find. Although traditionally, japchae has beef, one can also eliminate this ingredient from the recipe to make it a vegetarian dish.
Hottoek, on the other hand, has been a popular request among foreigners. That's why it was included.
During the live Zoom class, there were 43 attendees, all of whom tried to replicate what Ms. Lee was doing in her kitchen. And for everyone's benefit, there was an interpreter present who translated Ms. Lee's instructions into English.👍
What was interesting was that, other than the proper way to cook the recipes, Ms. Lee gave out tips to her students. Although I don't really cook, I appreciate knowing about those little tips. One can learn a lot from a teacher who has a wide experience and expertise.😄
According to Ms. Katherine Corteza, who has been the director of the Itaewon Global Village since March 2014, they decided to hold online cooking classes so everyone could join from the comfort and safety of their home, enabling those living overseas to experience Korean cooking virtually, and give those living alone to have an occasional online interaction with other people.
The Itaewon Global Center has future online cooking classes lined up for everyone interested. Do sign up for their newsletters through their Facebook page. Other than the online cooking classes, the Center will be conducting a webinar on mental health, and online painting and taekwondo classes.
Aside from the Seoul Global Center in the Jongno District, the Itaewon Global Center, run by Ms. Corteza and her team of five, is one of the seven village centers in Seoul that help and assist foreigners living in Korea in matters of daily living.
Having availed of their services, I appreciate and am grateful for their help and assistance in all my years of living in Seoul, especially during the time when I applied for a permanent resident visa (read blog here). 😍
If you missed the live online class, the Youtube video below is the entire episode. You can watch it anytime whenever you crave for japchae and hotteok.😎
And do watch out for the schedule of their next online classes!😋
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