"Hwangnam Bread Should Be Treated as a ‘Problem,’ Not a ‘Hot Topic’"


Dr. Son, Gi-Woong
President, Korea Institute for Peace and Cooperation
Ex-President, Korea Institute for National Unification
 

President Xi Jinping’s mention of Hwangnam Bread on October 31st generated significant buzz. He personally told President Lee Jae-myung that he enjoyed the bread he received as a gift while attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Gyeongju.
We must ponder Xi Jinping’s words.
On October 29th, Lee Jae-myung presented President Trump with a glittering Mugunghwa Grand Medal and a replica of the Silla Gold Crown, leaving him speechless. Trump must have been quite pleased, as he ordered the items to be brought home on Air Force One and displayed in a prominent location at the White House.
It was a good move. Trump, who can inflate a state’s security and economy with a single word, deserves a over $100,000 gift. South Korea must be willing to go above and beyond for the sake of its national interest.
But let’s consider it from Xi Jinping’s perspective. China, too, exerts tremendous influence over us in diplomacy, security, and the economy, and he dictates China’s direction. Moreover, he is different from the presidents who change every four or five years.
At the Korea-China summit held on November 1st, after Trump’s departure, Lee Jae-myung presented Xi Jinping with a Go board made from the finest ‘bonbija wood(Torreya nucifera S. et Z.)’ and a mother-of-pearl lacquerware tray. It’s clear that he put a lot of thought and care into the gift.
However, it’s a showdown between the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, the highest award, containing approximately 750 grams of gold, and the dazzling gold crown, versus the Go board and mother-of-pearl tray. It’s a gift that, to me, feels remarkably different, given to two people who were competing and confronting each other at the same event, both on state visits, and who were vying for hegemony on the global stage.
When Xi Jinping mentioned the Hwangnam bread that other APEC leaders had also received, he knew what Lee Jae-myung had given Trump two days earlier and what gift he would receive the next day.
Is it truly appropriate for Lee Jae-myung and his government to express joy and for the media and broadcasters to cover his remarks on the bread’s deliciousness? What will the 1.5 billion Chinese people think of the vast disparity between Lee Jae-myung’s gifts to Trump and to their leader, Xi Jinping?
The day after his mention of bread, Xi Jinping arrived late at the APEC summit, changing the order and entering last. Our government and experts explained this as a deliberate move by China to highlight its status as the next host country.
If we accept this and recognize that China pays close attention to every detail of its demeanor and protocol, and that its actions are carefully calculated to protect the prestige of its state and its leaders, then we shouldn’t interpret “Hwangnam Bread is Delicious” as a story about bread.
Lee Jae-myung and his government have also done something else that has severely damaged Xi Jinping’s reputation: nuclear submarines.
In addition to the cold shoulder, Lee Jae-myung, in an attempt to persuade Trump to possess nuclear submarines, said, “Diesel submarines have limited underwater capabilities, limiting their ability to track North Korean or Chinese submarines.” He added, “Building multiple submarines to conduct defensive operations in the East and West Seas of the Korean Peninsula would significantly reduce the burden on the US military.”
It’s not that the gift to Trump was wrong, nor is the bonbija wood go board and mother-of-pearl lacquerware tray bad. If Lee Jae-myung and his government, despite the glaring discrepancies between the gifts, decided to firmly establish Trump’s favor this time and go ‘all-in’ on economic negotiations, they should not be blamed.
South Korea must do everything possible to maintain its national security. Possessing nuclear submarines is necessary. If Lee Jae-myung and his government decided they must say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done, regardless of Xi Jinping’s coming or presence, that’s also not to be blamed.
The problem is the potential consequences. Lee Jae-myung and his government must shoulder the responsibility for such grave undertakings and prepare for it.
What will Xi Jinping and China do with Lee Jae-myung and his government, who sold out China and sweet-talked the United States? Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping are striving to restore their strained relationship.
Kim Jong-un visited Beijing on September 3rd to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in World War II, and Premier Li Qiang, China’s second-highest ranking official, visited Pyongyang on October 10th for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea. On October 24th, Kim Jong-un personally visited the ‘Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Martyrs’ Cemetery’ in Hoechang County, South Pyongan Province, to lay a wreath on the 75th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army’s participation in the Korean War.
Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea is imminent. Concerns are growing about what agreements he will reach with Kim Jong-un, how he will pursue Sino-North Korean cooperation, and what Xi Jinping, who has endured the humiliation of the Hwangnam Bread and nuclear submarine incident, will do. China completed its portion as early as October 2014, but the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge, which North Korea had delayed, could be a signal.
Lee Jae-myung claimed that the November 1st South Korea-China summit had “fully restored South Korea-China relations,” but this differs from Xi Jinping’s assertion that “in the face of rapidly changing international and regional situations, the two countries must uphold the tradition of friendship and demonstrate the wisdom of the East.”
There was no joint statement or announcement. Xi Jinping made no mention of North Korea’s denuclearization. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was present, reportedly said, “Many changes have occurred, and circumstances have changed, so a diverse approach is necessary.”
Xi Jinping, visiting South Korea for the first time in 11 years, stayed for two nights and three days. Unlike Trump, who simply attended to his own business and left with gifts, he attended the APEC summit from beginning to end. There were likely several reasons for this, including China’s position as the next APEC chair and a desire to demonstrate its Asian leadership.
However, it’s true that Xi Jinping put considerable effort into preparing for this visit to South Korea. On October 28th, before his visit, the state-run Xinhua News Agency published an article titled “China and South Korea are close neighbors who cannot move apart,” highlighting Xi’s past remarks that the two countries fought together during the Imjin War and that their peoples shared life and death during the Anti-Japanese War, emphasizing their ties with South Korea.
Lee Jae-myung, thrilled by Xi Jinping’s gratitude for the Hwangnam bread, immediately ordered an additional 200 boxes of bread as a gift to the entire Chinese delegation.
On November 2nd, Cho Kuk, chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the Rebuilding Korea Party, praised Lee Jae-myung, claiming that the Hwangnam bread, bearing the letter ‘Hwang(皇)’ for emperor, was a gift from Lee Jae-myung to Xi Jinping, even more so than Trump, according to his own ‘Brain Official.’ This remark, blind to the fact that the Chinese love gold and that Trump carried real gold, while Xi Jinping received a bread with the letter ‘Hwang,’ is a reflection of his long-standing dysfunctional brain.
To avoid any misunderstanding, I would like to state clearly that I also love Hwangnam bread.