When I first went to Korea in the U.S. navy in 1977, the first food I ate outside the gate of the army base I was stationed at was something called "omu-rice" (오므라이스), which is essentially a rice omelet. I ate it at what Koreans called a Chinese restaurant, and I liked it. In fact, it became one of my favorite foods to eat in the little Korean village outside the gate.
Forty years later, after graduating with a degree in Korean Language and Literature and living many years in Korea, I learned today for the first time, I think, that the "omu" in omu-rice is actually a Korean reference to "omelet."
It is very possible that I learned the above tidbit about omu-rice sometime in the past, but I cannot remember it. What I can remember very clearly is being excited as I sat at the only window table in a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant eating my first plate of omu-rice. I was excited because it was one of my first adventures into learning about Korean culture.
That was a nice read! It's fun to reminisce about these special moments in our process of getting to know the Korean language and culture. I hope you'll share more memories like this in future posts!
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