A young assistant cook in the Blue House breaks a bottle of wine intended for a dinner party with the prime minister of Sweden. She brings out Korean wild-berry wine instead. The Swedish prime minister is first disturbed by the unexpected taste but after the head cook explains further about the benefits of traditional wine, he ends up enjoying it.

The incident is a scene from the Korean drama "Really Really Like You" about a country girl succeeding as a cook in the Blue House. Lee Min-seop in charge of special receptions at the Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul couldn't help smiling at the scene's naivete.

"In reality, when we set a table we also provide guests with the readymade menu, too," he said. "If something happens we explain that to guests beforehand and bring out the changed menu. I have never heard of surprising a guest with something that wasn't on the menu."

Nonetheless, the drama is a good example of the highly sensitive role food can play in diplomacy, given how easily the mood can be spoiled, especially when hosting foreign dignitaries. Food at diplomatic events represents the host nation's culture and level of sophistication.

Success at APEC meeting

Last year, over 1,000 guests from home and abroad attended the Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) meeting in Busan; including 21 heads of state, their spouses, over 500 foreign guests and over 300 Korean political and business leaders. For that special occasion, the APEC Preparatory Committee formed an advisory committee made up of Korean food experts from various sectors a year ahead of the event.

The food selected was Korean traditional dishes slightly altered for the convenience of foreigners: porridge made of rice and pine nuts, slices of seasoned beef, fish, tea, appetizers and others. Even the white porcelain serving bowls and dishes were custom-made for the occasion to accent the color of the food and heighten the aesthetic appearance. The preparatory committee also researched the likes and dislikes of each leader beforehand.

The end result was a success: "In past APEC summits, there was always room for improvement one way or the other, but this time, we made it nearly flawless," Park In-kyu, a special aide in charge of preparations for the dinner said. "I heard later that president Roh Moo-hyun even received some favorable remarks from world leaders. Barbara Bush, the former first lady of the U.S. especially praised the food."

Ambassador's wife as Korean food expert

Korean ambassadors serving abroad hold parties regularly for foreign guests. They stress that traditional food is a way to the heart of foreign officials. "There happens to be several gourmets among diplomats," said Lee Bok-hyung, head of the Latin American Cultural Center, who served as an ambassador for 30 years in Latin America. "Korean dishes never fail to leave a deep impression."

Of course, his wife, Hong Kap-pyo, was the one who actually prepared all the delicacies. "It's not easy to prepare those tricky Korean dishes wearing a hanbok but it's my duty as an ambassador's wife," she said. "Good taste is important, of course, but they also seemed to be taken away by bright, multi-colored dishes like gujeolpan (a platter of nine delicacies) and shinseonro (a dish with nuts, fish and ginseng) and that pleases me most."

In early June this year, Korea's ambassador to the United States, Lee Tae-sik, invited U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to a dinner party. The menu was made of Korean traditional dishes. "We conversed freely without any worries," Kim Jae-soo, the Korean counselor on agriculture, who joined the party, said later. "It helped the two sides to better understand the agricultural situation of the respective nation and resolve problems more efficiently under tight cooperation," he added. It was relatively easy to bring out the issue of agricultural trade since they were sharing vegetable dishes raised by Korean farmers. Yang Sung-chul, the former ambassador to the U.S., has said he offered homemade kimchi to former Secretary of State Colin Powell.