US, China, Japan, EU among nations at head table; all menu items halal except samgyeopsal

President Lee Jae Myung smiles during a Cabinet meeting and emergency economic review session at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung smiles during a Cabinet meeting and emergency economic review session at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung will host ambassadors and heads of international organizations from the diplomatic corps in Seoul for a dinner featuring Korean charcoal barbecue and chimaek — fried chicken paired with beer — at Cheong Wa Dae's Nokjiwon garden Tuesday evening.

Cheong Wa Dae announced that Lee would hold the dinner for the Seoul-based diplomatic community at Nokjiwon.

Joining Lee at the head table will be representatives from the United States, China, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, Mongolia, the EU, the Holy See, Morocco — which holds the rotating chair of the diplomatic corps — and South Africa. The United States and China will each be represented by their chargé d'affaires.

"The head table lineup was determined by comprehensively considering key countries visited or received through summit diplomacy this year, as well as regional balance and representativeness," Cheong Wa Dae said.

The dinner will be served buffet-style, with the main dishes accompanied by Korean fresh kimchi and ssambap — rice wrapped in leafy greens.

"For the K-BBQ main course, a variety of seasonal ingredients were used in consideration of the religious practices and food cultures of each country, and all ingredients except samgyeopsal were prepared as halal," Cheong Wa Dae said, adding that Korean-style seasoned and fried chicken and draft Cass beer would also be available.


moone@heraldcorp.com