Interesting thread.
Thanks, Ruth. I’ve been reading it.
When my brother-in-law first brought his new bride from So. Korea to meet us, I asked her if she would prepare a meal for us (we knew that she was a great cook and that her family had a restaurant in Seoul) She was honored to be asked and I took Song Sun to our local Safeway to shop for the meal. She was totally amazed to see so many products in one place and had a fun time selecting items. After filling her cart, she went up and down the aisles again and again looking for something. She spoke almost no English and was getting quite frustrated. I called my b-i-l (who spoke Korean), and put Song Sun on the phone. She explained to him what she needed. I got back on the phone and he told me she wanted “taste powder”. He didn’t know what it was, and after some thought, I finally figured out she wanted “Accent” (monosodium glutamate). Problem solved and we had a wonderful Korean meal that night.
Now, 25 years later, whe is still a great cook and looks as beautiful as she did when I first met her.