Online Outrage As Abe Shinzo Admits: ‘I Eat Korean Food’
by julia on Thursday, October 10, 2013
by julia on Thursday, October 10, 2013
Abe spoke to Park Geun-Hye earlier this week.
This week, representatives from 21 countries in the Asia-Pacific region gathered in Bali for the 2013 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forums. Every year, APEC gives leaders of a wide range of countries the opportunity to participate in discussions about international economic issues and work together to encourage trade and competitiveness among nations.However, this year’s APEC hasn’t been all work and no play.
On October 7, the Indonesian President serenaded Vladimir Putin in honor of the Russian President’s 61st birthday. And yesterday, when Abe Shinzo divulged some details of his friendly social interaction with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the forums, Japanese reporters positively ate it up.With political tension between Korea and Japan as high as ever, the netouyo were unsurprisingly enraged at Abe Shinzo’s modesty and friendliness. Do you think the conversation was basic diplomacy, or are there more meaningful political undertones to Abe’s small talk? Do you care what Abe Shinzo’s been eating?
From Yahoo! Japan:
”I’ve been eating Korean food”: Abe Shinzo Dishes on Conversations with President Park
”I often eat Korean food.” On October 9, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo informed the press that he made that statement to Korean President Park Geun-hye when she sat next to him at the leaders’ dinner at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) held in Bali, Indonesia.He said that the two leaders shook hands and exchanged “social conversation” at the dinner gathering on the 7th. The prime minister brought up such topics as his wife Akie’s participation in the “Japanese-Korean Exchange Festival” held in Tokyo in September, and his own active attendance at events to introduce Korean culture that occur every November in his hometown of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi prefecture.
