Sushi and Buddhist Temples
Building a Lasting Relationship in Daegu South Korea
Welcome to Daegu
Our 130-passenger jet took an abrupt 500-foot nose dive and a tight sharp angled right turn as we descended rapidly for our final approach to the Daegu International Airport. The fighter pilot’s mid-morning landing was swift and sweet. Wow! There’s a first time for everything!
First Visit Jitters
It’s my first visit to Korea and I’m bug-eyed with excitement. It’s Friday and I have a meeting with a potential distributor for our line of prosthetic feet. You read right, I’m a foot soldier from Seattle introducing our products in Asia.
The General Manager meets me at the gate and I am relieved that he speaks English.
We arrive at their business just outside of the city. I’m invited for a cup of mild Jasmine tea and a sweet. Afterward, we tour their facility and I’m informed that we will be going to lunch with Mr. Lee the owner.
Tipping a Cup of Friendship
Mr. Lee and I shake hands and the three of us are chauffeured off in separate cars to the restaurant.
After we’re seated, the GM translates for Mr. Lee
“James what would you like to eat?”
“I would like to try Mr. Lee’s favorite dish.”
“Hmm, are you sure?”
Pause.
“Yes, and perhaps a little soju” as I anticipate a spicy hot dish.
Mr. Lee breaks into the conversation in his broken English “Oh, you like soju!”
I nod, “Yes, thank you.”
Two small chilled carafes of rice wine instantly appear. Soju is as popular in Korea as its favorite brews of beer.
Several toasts later we begin enjoying our meal of Bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated meat of choice) and mountains of fresh lightly sautéed vegetables and sprouts in a delicate oyster sauce with multiple small dishes of fresh herbs, finely chopped nuts, and dipping sauces.
There’s no business discussed during our meal. It’s strictly about food and pleasant conversation with a few jokes about traveling.
It’s all about getting to know and experience one another.
After lunch, Mr. Lee excuses himself as he has urgent business to conclude before our meeting this afternoon.
I later find out that a portion of that time was spent placing calls to mutual business associates in the United States checking out our products and my status within my company.
Meanwhile, the GM and I drive through the countryside to visit a 9th-century mountain top monastery 20 kilometers outside of Daegu!
Seonbonsa Buddhist Temple
Hiking in Wingtips
It was at least a forty-five-minute hike up a steep but wide tree-shaded trail. It felt like two hours. My feet were killing me. It was a warm autumn day and I was soaked from my head to my sweaty feet.
But the experience was beyond words: the mountain views from the ancient temples, the flowering trees waving in a light breeze, the fragrance of the gardens in bloom, the huge finely crafted stone sculptures, the giant bell and chimes echoing out across the mountain valley forests, and the exquisite Buddhist story art and symbols within the temples!
A Cold Mountain Spring
My sweat dried and a few cups of cold mountain spring water quenched a parched thirst. I looked and felt like a baggy-clothed western clown in a damp and wrinkled two-piece suit.
Again, there was little talk about business just a polite exchange of thoughts as we both soaked in the blended magnificence of nature and the surrounding temples. It seemed one complemented the other in complete harmony. Inspiration seemed to flood into our present moment bonding us both to our experience.
Finally a Moment of Business
Returning to the office, Mr. Lee orders multiple samples of our products for evaluation and that concludes our business. From beginning to end it might have taken five minutes.
Sometimes business is more about relationships than products.
Mr. Lee apologizes for his busy Friday schedule and invites me to his private island retreat for the weekend to talk more about our products and the prosthetics market in the United States. I decline due to prior commitments and appointments in Seoul.
Mr. Lee is very upset.
It’s an awkward minute or two. I have declined his generous offer to be his honored guest. At last, he accepts my decision but insists that we must at least have dinner together before my return flight.
Another Time to Dine
Mr. Lee asks through his translator “What is your favorite food?” I hesitate and then apologize for I fear that my choice might offend him. He insists, stating emphatically that Daegu has many fine restaurants. My selection is sushi. Korean and Japanese relations have been very strained since WWII.
Mr. Lee’s bushy eyebrows arch upwards and he exclaims in a very loud voice “SUSHI?”
“That’s my favorite food!”
He starts laughing and I chuckle through my perspiration! Once again our bonding begins by sharing a meal. Then in a flash, we’re off to his favorite house of sushi.
At the Restaurant
We arrive and are graciously greeted by a bowing owner and the sushi chef and then seated at the sushi bar.
I thought it was smorgasbord style with angled wooden platters two feet high and stretching across all three of us. I’m told this is standard fare for Mr. Lee.
We began sampling incredible combinations of seafood and sauces the likes of which I have never seen or dared to eat before. After several minutes of quietly munching my way through sushi heaven, Mr. Lee asked me a question.
“Why do you like sushi so much? I’ve never seen an American that loves sushi as much as I do. You eat with passion!”
I Shared My Truth
“It’s simple. I sniff the seafood first. If it smells good, I taste it. If it tastes good, I chew it. If it’s still tasting good, I swallow it!”
We laughed and laughed as the tears rolled down our cheeks.
And that was the beginning of a long and fruitful friendship with Mr. Lee!
Thank you for reading!
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