London, Paris, Berlin and Bangkok.
And, now, Coquitlam.
The latter is the latest in a list of cities where some young people from Korea will be serving a traditional dish to civic employees to promote their homeland.
Today (Wednesday), 100 Bibimbap Tables hits Coquitlam city hall - the first time the event has been held in Canada - and it's coming thanks to the efforts of Sam Seo, a Tri-City resident. Five cooks in their 20s will also serve the dish tonight in Vancouver to 100 civic employees and dignitaries.
Bibimbap is a bowl of white rice topped with sautéed and seasoned vegetables and chilli pepper paste; a raw or fried egg and sliced meat are sometimes added. The food to be served today was to be prepared yesterday in a church kitchen.
To date, the cooks have prepared bibimbap at 44 locations, including London, Paris, Madrid, New Delhi, Calcutta, Bangkok and Berlin as part of a marketing campaign by the Korean Food Foundation and Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Korea. Their aim is to highlight next year's Korean Expo as well as the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang (last month, Korea was named host country by the International Olympic Committee).
"We want to promote Korea and invite the world, especially to these events," said Seo, a member of the Tri-Cities' Chamber of Commerce who organized the meal in Coquitlam's council chambers because of his connection with Mayor Richard Stewart.
Last fall, Stewart and city manager Peter Steblin toured Korea and China to get the word out about the city to business people and high school students there. Also on the two-week trip was Korean-Canadian businessman Ken Beck Lee, a former federal Liberal candidate who was instrumental in setting up a sister city relationship between Coquitlam and Paju, Korea, in 2009. Last Saturday, the 10th annual Korean Festival was held in Coquitlam, attracting thousands of spectators.
The 100 Bibimbap Tables global tour ends in December.
