Pyongyang cold noodles warm ties with South
SEOUL – Long lines formed yesterday outside restaurants in South Korea’s capital serving Pyongyang-style cold noodles after the dish took on a starring role at a historic summit between the North and South Korean leaders.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought a batch of the noodles for a dinner banquet yesterday, at the request of South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
“We’ve made efforts to bring Pyongyang
naengmyeon all the way from Pyongyang,” Kim said in opening remarks at the summit, referring to the North Korean capital.
“So, hopefully, Mr. President can enjoy Pyongyang naengmyeon from afar, though I
I mustn’t say ‘afar’ now,” Kim said with a chuckle.
Naengmyeon is noodles in a chilled meat broth, topped with beef brisket, pickled radish, sliced cucumbers and half a boiled egg.
Moon had requested that the dish be on the menu at the banquet, and asked Kim if he could bring a takeaway batch from a famous Pyongyang restaurant, Okryu Gwan.
North Korean officials were happy to oblige, the South’s presidential office said, adding that North Korea had even sent a chef from the restaurant to prepare the dish.
Hungry South Koreans were clearly impressed and by midday #Pyongyang Naengmyeon was one of the top trending topics on Korean-language Twitter while the lines at restaurants specializing in the dish, like the Eulmildae in a run-down part of Seoul, grew.
“This is the longest queue I’ve ever seen,” Kim Wonseok, a regular customer at the restaurant, said of the customers lined up 40 meters just before noon.
Major retailer E-land Mall was offering a 2-kg bag of “Inter-Korea summit special Pyongyang naengmyeon” for 6,900 won ($6.40).
Wary optimism
The noodles were an unusual hit at a summit that many South Koreans are viewing with wary optimism.
Many South Koreans hoped the first visit to the South by a leader from the North would be a turning point for peace on the war-divided peninsula.
Some people watching a large television screen beaming images of the leaders to a crowd in front of Seoul’s city hall cheered and jumped with joy when Kim – whose nuclear and missile tests last year stoked fear of war – crossed the border to shake hands with Moon.
“I’m filled with emotion,” said Park Ha-seok, 60, as he watched the pictures being broadcast from the border village of Panmunjom. “I don’t expect a big change but this is a start.”
The two sides are technically still at war because the 1950-53 Korean war ended in a truce, not a full peace treaty.