Gwangju, South Korea in April

Fellow LTHers,

I have the honor and good fortune to travel to Gwangju, South Korea next month as part of a cultural exchange program organized by Rotary International. R.I., as you may know, is the Evanston based charitable organization known for its polio eradication program, among many other good works. The Group Study Exchange, of which I’m a part this year, is a different program whereby individual Rotary Districts (there are 500-some worldwide) swap groups of wide-eyed whippersnappers and dunk them into an intensive monthlong cultural immersion. Hundreds of these exchanges take place every year around the globe, the operative philosophy being that it is difficult to go to war with people once you get to know them.

Gwangju is South Korea’s fifth largest city, located in the southwest province of Jeollanam-do. I’m very excited to have learned from several Koreans that the region is considered to be the culinary heart of the peninsula, characterized by aggressive seasonings, and proximity to the sea and the agricultural breadbasket, er, rice bowl. It is also the home of the annual Gwangju Kimchi Festival (unfortunately in October).

As part of the ambassadorial function of the program, my group is expected to bear a range of gifts for the hundreds of people we’ll meet on the trip. These are meant to be representative of our homes, and I’ve already received donated swag from the Chicago Reader and the Windy City Rollers, and Pennsylvanian Era fossils from the Mazon Creek area downstate. A group from Gwangju is headed here at the same time probably bearing sacks of leaves from the Boseong Tea Fields. I’ll be given a small budget to purchase other things, and what I’d like to do is get a bunch of food related stuff. I’ve already decided to take some Sweet Beginnings honey products, and Wiv has pledged samples of his barbecue rub. So I’d like to ask the LTH community for suggestions about what other locally produced, portable, and non-perishable food and food related items to present to our hosts in Gwangju. Also, if you’d like to donate specific items in the name of international diplomacy, I and Rotary District 6450 would be deeply grateful.

Wiv has posted a description of the program here (the ?s are related to HTML translation problems, and not to any lack of confidence in
the program

Thanks for your attention,
Mike

Mike,

this sounds like a fantastic trip! I wonder if some of the lighter, non-perishable items from this old thread on "Chicago-themed Wedding Gift baskets" would work?

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=11487

have fun,
Amata

Hi,

My niece went to Northern Ireland as a student ambassador last year courtesy of Rotary International. She was very impressed with the experience because she and her friends were treated as VIP's meeting people at high levels of government.

If you would like Gary's favored BBQ sauce to go with the rub, then let me know.

I have hunted and did not find a thread on food gifts for visiting foreigners. Maybe it was on the listserv ... oh well.

Things we take for granted that foreigners enjoy:
- Pecans (with one recent exception, are grown in North American only)
- Chocolate chips (for cc cookies)
- Pop tarts
- Shake n'Bake
- Hershey's chocolate bars (substitute Blommers)
- whenever I travel abroad, I bring the favorite local candy for my nieces to try. So a quantity of 100 Grand, 3 Musketeers, etc might be welcome.

Regards,

Sounds like it'll be a great experience, Mike! Two or three classes of things come to mind for gift ideas.

First, as C2 suggested, local candy is a good idea,. There is some related Chicago history, also, to, er, sweeten your story, as this area was the original source for a number of American penny-candy-type treats. So you could bring representative Mars products as well as Ferrara Pan Candy's Lemonheads, colorful jawbreakers, and Red Hots. How about Frango Mints with their Marshall Field's large department store association? Not from Chicago, per se, but still uniquely North American, you might also consider maple-flavored candies--which ought to travel relatively lighter and more safely than maple syrup in bottles.

Second, I'd suggest packets of tea (or similar hot water drink additives) made with ginseng from Wisconsin. I'm told that the Wisconsin stuff is world-class (though to be diplomatic, one should say to the giftee that it might be almost as good as ginseng local to Korea. ) You might try Ten Ren in Chinatown as a source.

Finally, on a less-healthful slant, I imagine that--as in China--there is considerable regard for packs of American cigarettes in gold packaging, e.g., Pall Mall.

Looking forward to a future posting of yours on your experiences, culinary and otherwise. Have a fabulous time, Mike!

--Matt

Thanks guys,

I have a list of stuff culled from Amata's link. mhl, local ginseng is an excellent idea.

Mike