Yesterday, we had the opportunity to make kimbap ourselves.
The rice and ingredients: Spam, carrots, egg roll, crab stick, and cucumber,
had already been prepared. All we needed to do was arrange them neatly on a
sheet of seaweed and roll everything together using a bamboo mat. Voila! We had
baon for the rest of the day’s tour.
What made the experience even more fascinating was that we
learned it from a Filipino museum worker, whom I shall call Ms. A, from
Pampanga. Through her demonstration, a distinctly Korean cultural practice
became something I could bring home to my own family in the Philippines.
The experience reminded me of Roland Robertson’s concept of
glocalization, where global cultural influences are adapted and given meaning
within local contexts (Robertson, 1995). Kimbap remains recognizably Korean,
yet once prepared in a Filipino home, it acquires new meanings and
associations. Culture travels, but it is never simply transplanted. It is
interpreted, adapted, and woven into everyday life.
The process is not one-way, either. Ms. A herself is part of
that story. A Filipina working in South Korea, she introduces Korean culture to
international visitors, including fellow Filipinos. In many ways, she serves as
a cultural bridge, helping people like us appreciate Korean traditions while
discovering how they might take root in our own communities.
As I rolled my kimbap and packed it for the road, I realized
that cultural exchange often happens through the simplest of experiences:
sharing food, learning recipes, telling stories, and passing them on. Perhaps
that is one of the quiet gifts of travel, not merely seeing another culture,
but finding meaningful ways to bring a part of it home.
#BTS_ARIRANG #bangtanpilgrimage2026 #Festa2026
#southkoreatrip Savedbythebest Travel and Tours
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