Beigeul

Consider the humble bagel and its amazing journey across geographical and cultural boundaries. Invented in Eastern Europe some time in the 17th century, the bagel came to North American shores with Jewish immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century, and remained almost exclusively a food known to and enjoyed by American Jews until the 1970s or so.

The bagel is usually recognized by its doughnut-like shape, a round ring with a hole in the middle. But what distinguishes it from other types of bread is its two-step cooking process: first boiled and then baked. This results in a dense, chewy interior and a tough, crusty skin.

When I grew up in the Boston suburbs in the 1970s and early 1980s, bagels were found almost exclusively in Jewish delis in cities with sizable Jewish populations like New York, Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. We ate them with lox (cured salmon) and cream cheese. If non-Jews had any familiarity with bagels, it was usually the flavorless frozen Lender's brand available in supermarkets.

Then in the late 1980s and early 1990s the bagel suddenly leaped free of its ethnic confines, shedding its Jewish associations and becoming a common American snack food. Bagel chains proliferated, and bagels became widely available almost anywhere sandwiches and pastries were sold. As bagels spread, they diversified. Many were not cooked in the traditional way, and flavors proliferated. Suddenly the lure of the bagel had become irresistible -- everyone wanted to eat them.

At that time, though, the bagel was still almost completely unknown in Asia. I once took a 90-minute bus ride across Taipei (this was September 1993) because I'd heard a rumor that one could get a bagel in the cafeteria of the Taipei American School. (I had to talk my way into the school building, trying to explain to the guard what a bagel was and I was so desperate to get my hands on one.) According to email I sent to friends the next day, "Sure enough, the snack bar sold bagels: blueberry, cinnamon-raisin, and garlic. I bought five garlic bagels for about $4. They weren't very good."

How things have changed! Now, in the first decade of the 21st century, the bagel has become a truly global food. In Seoul you can hardly walk down the street without tripping over one. Adaptive as ever, the bagel has taken on forms that I dare say have never been seen in Eastern Europe or North America. At first glance these don't really seem to be particularly Korean; I've seen no kimchee bagels, for example. But on second thought, they are typically Korean, products of the new cosmopolitan Korean penchant for embracing and re-imagining various foreign culinary traditions.

Let's take a little tour of The Bagels I've Seen in Seoul.

We'll begin with the café chain A Twosome Place. There's one on campus where I sometimes sit and do my homework when I feel like forking over $4 for a cup of coffee. They also sell focaccia sandwiches, cakes, and bagels:


Their New York bagel is prepared in an interesting way:


The bagel innards are scooped out, and apple cream cheese is spread into the depression. New York readers: have you ever had a scooped-out bagel?

While we're on the subject of A Twosome Place, here's something interesting I don't think you'd see on an American campus. It's a little seating area reserved for the use of professors.


It's tempting to attribute this to Korean society's greater focus on hierarchy and the esteem in which teachers are held there. But it could also just be a way for this particular café to try to attract more faculty diners.

One other thing to notice in the picture above: Koreans seem to think that the English name for Switzerland is "Swiss". I've seen this usage elsewhere too.

Moving on now, to FANCO, the little café inside the building where I take my language classes. (You can see a picture of the outside of the café toward the end of this post.) The morning of my placement test back in February I had a plain bagel and cream cheese there for my breakfast. There were several bagel items on the menu.


The grilled bagel (tomato/pineapple) seemed the most unusual. Pineapple?

On a later visit I noticed this display of FANCO food products:


There's a detailed description of the grilled bagel under its picture.


Apparently you choose either tomato or pineapple. On top of that goes a layer of cheese, then the whole thing is grilled. I saw one of these being prepared, and as the pineapple slice came out of the can and, dripping syrup, was placed onto the bagel, it suddenly occurred to me that in terms of shape and size it was the perfect topping: a ring with a hole in it.

The last bagel item I want to show you was discovered in Paris Baguette, one of many fancy French-style bakery chains that have taken over the city.


It's strawberry season right now in Korea. Fresh, tasty, sweet strawberries are everywhere (including my refrigerator and belly). The sign identifies these ttalgi beigeul 딸기 베이글 (strawberry bagels) as part of the store's "Strawberry Festival". It goes on to describe the 1800-won (a bit less than US $2) product as a "New York morning bagel with strawberries inside", made from flour (from the US or Canada), custard cream (from Korean milk), and strawberries (Korean grown).

This does not look good to me. Bagels are savory foods, and in my personal opinion should not be served with fruit and custard. Now here's an attractive picture of a bagel the way I like it, with cream cheese, lox, capers, red onions, and tomatoes.