日韓第一夫人開展“泡菜外交”
The first ladies of Japan and South Korea engaged in some kimchi diplomacy Friday as their husbands held summit talks on improving relations.
On the sidelines of the meeting between President Lee Myung-Bak and Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Lee's wife Kim Yun-Ok invited Miyuki Hatoyama to a Korean traditional cuisine institute.
Miyuki, a lifestyle guru who has published cooking books, impressed Kim by sticking her bare hand in a pot of kimchi -- an iconic but strongly-flavoured dish of vegetables pickled with red chili and garlic.
Kim said even Korean women use plastic gloves when making a potent version of the side dish.
"I wanted to experience making kimchi with bare hands," responded Miyuki, who is known for her love of Korean culture.
Hatoyama and his wife last month had a meeting in Tokyo with South Korean heart-throb actor Lee Seo-Jin, who presented them with a Korean tea set and DVDs of his movies.
上週五，當日韓兩國首腦舉行峯會就改善兩國關係交換意見時，兩國的第一夫人則開展了“泡菜外交”。
在韓國總統李明博和日本首相鳩山由紀夫舉行會談的會場之外，李明博的夫人金潤玉則邀請（日本首相夫人）鳩山幸前往了韓國的一家傳統飲食研究所。
曾出版過幾本烹飪書的時尚大師鳩山幸赤手伸進泡菜壇，給金潤玉留下了深刻印象。泡菜是韓國的傳統飲食，其味道濃烈，是在蔬菜中加入紅辣椒和大蒜醃製而成的。
金潤玉稱，即使韓國婦女在製作這道味道濃烈的小菜時，也要戴上塑料手套。
鳩山幸回答說：“我想體會一下赤手做泡菜的感覺。”據悉鳩山幸對韓國文化頗感興趣。
鳩山由紀夫和妻子於上月在東京會見了韓國的“萬人迷”男演員李瑞鎮。當時李瑞鎮贈送給日本首相及夫人一套韓國茶具以及自己所演影片的光盤。
Vocabulary:
kimchi：Korean. a spicy pickled or fermented mixture containing cabbage, onions, and sometimes fish, variously seasoned, as with garlic, horseradish, red peppers, and ginger（泡菜）
on the sidelines of：作爲旁觀者，不參與
guru：a leader in a particular field（專家；權威；大師）
pickle：to preserve or steep in brine or other liquid（醃漬）
side dish：a serving of a portion of food in addition to the principal food, usually on a separate dish（配菜，正菜外的附加菜）
heart-throb：迷人的出名男子，大衆情人（尤指男演員或歌手）
