4th of July and Kalbi

Today I digress from my usual dialogue on the dynamics of Korean-American business.

Several years ago, one of my Korean colleages invited a group of his American friends and families to his home in New York for a 4th of July picnic. I, too, was invited. As is typical for a picnic, the Americans brought traditional food and drink to share—beer, soda, watermelon and potato salad, along with a wide variety of snacks.

My Korean friend had told everyone he would be handling the BBQ. To many of the guests they were surprised to find out that the BBQ consisted of Kalbi-Korean rib eye steak mariated in a liberal mixture of garlic and spices.

Having eaten Korean BBQ on a number of occations, I was pleased to see we were to have kalbi. However, from the expression on some of the Americans, I could see a degree of apprehension and thoughts of “where are the burgers?” That soon changed when one-by-one even to most reluctant guests tried the tasty kalbi. In no time, everyone was a convert, much to the delight of the Korean host and his family.

In fact, as the years past, Korean kalbi became a treat, welcomed at the group’s events and 4th of July festivities.