The name of Alex Clermont’s essay collection, Eating Kimchi and Nodding Politely caught my eye because, well frankly, kimchi terrifies me. When I hear the word, I think of old cabbage, buried until it’s rotten, and then you eat it. I give Clermont credit, because I could never eat it!

In his essay collection, Clermont shares stories about the time he spends in South Korea teaching English to school children, their mothers, and common citizens. This isn’t a lengthy piece–it could be called novella-sized. But it still delivers a nice, cozy idea of how things work in South Korea.

After reading this, I felt I had some actual knowledge of a foreign culture. It was also reinforces the idea that as different other cultures seem, there is something we all have in common: food and community.

After reading the essay collection, I still have no desire to eat kimchi. But I will be looking out for Clermont’s next written offering!

By the way, I found this information on kimchi. I swear I thought kimchi was buried for ages before eaten!

Here’s a video trailer for Eating Kimchi and Nodding Politely. Enjoy!