Olympics in S. Korea inspire quest to learn more

I enjoyed watching the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics the last few weeks. There were some exciting matches in figure skating, hockey and curling — the only sport I could possibly do, at my age.

While watching the two-man bobsled, I started thinking: Who was Bob, and what was so special about his sled?

I’m interested in word origins, so I turned to my online etymology dictionary and looked it up. Then I looked up “Alpine” and “Pyeongchang,” and by then I realized it might make a good column.

I’m sure many of us remember the word “Olympics” comes from Olympus, a city in Greece and supposed home of the gods. And the five Olympic rings represent the five populated continents.

But there was no “Bob” who had a sled, I soon discovered. In old English, “bob” meant “short.” At one time a bobsled was made from two short sleds and used to haul logs. “Sled” and “luge” both probably come from a French word for “slippery” or “sliding.”

“Figure skating” is an odd term, too. It comes from patterns that skaters had to trace in the ice of the numerals 8 and 3, loops, coils and more. These were dropped 20 years ago as too boring for television.

The word “hockey” is of unknown origin but probably came from the French word “hoquet,” a shepherd’s curved staff.

“Alpine” refers to the Alps, which means “high mountains” in Latin. Wordsmiths believe it came from “albos,” which meant “white.”

“Biathalon” means “two contests.” Participants have to ski and shoot at targets.

The word “slalom” comes from Norwegian and means “sloping track.” The word “ski” is also Norwegian and means “stick of wood,” “firewood” or “snowshoe.”

Korean translation

The 2018 Winter Games were held in the city of Pyeongchang, which translates into “land of prosperity” in Korean.

The country name “Korea” originated from the “Goryeo” (or “Koryo”) dynasty, of about A.D. 918.

Koreans call “America” “Mee-gook,” meaning “beautiful country.” “Mee” seems to come from the second syllable “aMErica.”

I also decided to look into the symbolism of the Korean flag. Its background is white, a traditional color in Korean culture and dress. White represents purity and peace.

In the center is a circle with a blue and red “taeguk” — more commonly known as a yin-yang to Westerners. It represents balance.

Surrounding it are four trigrams (symbols). Clockwise from the upper right, they represent wisdom, vitality, justice and fruition.

Hawaii connection

While we’re exploring things connected to the Korean Olympics, I thought I’d look at some Korean companies in Hawaii that have interesting stories.

A few Korean restaurants have former names of the Korean capital, before Seoul: Chosun Korean Restaurant and Han Yang Restaurant.

The people of Korea call themselves the Han, and the river that runs through Seoul is also the Han.

The name of the capital was changed to Seoul in 1948 when the Republic of Korea was established.

Sorabol Restaurant (on Keeaumoku Street) is named for the Korean royal palace in Seoul. The word “Seoul” is derived from Sorabol and means “the center of everything.”

Budnamujip restaurant (on Kapiolani Boulevard near Ward Avenue) means “willow tree house,” staffer Ryan Kim told me. The chain has four restaurants in Korea, going back 40 years.

The first of nine Kim Chee restaurants was opened in Kaneohe in 1972 by Hee-Joo Chun. She picked the name because kim chee is the most well-known and popular Korean dish. Korean restaurants were somewhat rare back then, and Kim Chee was well received.

I wondered where the word “kim chee” came from. It originally may have meant “submerged vegetables.”

Early recipes of kim chee did not include garlic or chili peppers, which were not introduced by Westerners until the 17th century. Their use in kim chee is not known until the 1800s.

Noh, really?

Edwin and Miriam Noh opened Arirang, Honolulu’s first Korean restaurant, in 1961, son Raymond told me. It was on Kaheka Street, just below King Street. Most of the meals were $1.

“‘Arirang’ is an ancient Korean folk song, the national song of Korea,” Noh continued. “It roughly translates as ‘beautiful’ plus ‘dear.’”

“A Korean restaurant has to make kim chee every day. The girls in the kitchen would be chopping the garlic and chili pepper, cutting and soaking the cabbage, and putting it all together every day. It’s a tedious process.”

“My dad bought powdered garlic, dehydrated chili pepper, and arrived at a formula that tasted identical and was less labor-intensive. That was the beginning of Noh Foods in 1963.”

Soon, Noh had five different packaged items: kim chee, teriyaki, sweet sour, kalbi and char siu.

“The first factory was our living room,” Raymond Noh recalled. “We had jars and barrels of ingredients all over.”

Noh now produces over 41 different products: Hawaiian iced tea mix, barbecue, Portuguese sausage mix, poke mix, lemon chicken, roast chicken, Chinese fried rice, haupia, adobo, spicy chicken and many more.

Since I’m looking at kim chee, I might as well explore the surname “Kim,” which 22 percent of Koreans have. “Kim” means “gold” and came from a family that ruled Korea for 700 years.

Yummy Korean B-B-Q founder Peter Kim graduated from Kaiser High School and played football for the University of Hawaii, the University of Alabama and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An injury sidelined his kicking career, so he left the gridiron for the restaurant business.

In 1987 he founded Yummy Korean B-B-Q. He now also owns Chow Mein Express, Lahaina Chicken, Bear’s Kitchen (named in honor of his former Alabama coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant), Liliha Bakery, Signature Prime Steak & Seafood and Mama’s Spaghetti House — over 45 restaurants.

Kim chose, with permission, as Yummy Korean B-B-Q’s mascot, Hodori the Tiger, the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics mascot, because his first restaurant opened at the same time.

The Korean Christian Church in Liliha was founded in 1918 by Dr. Syngman Rhee. He lived here 25 years, then became Korean president, then came back to Hawaii for another 15 years. That’s why Hawaii is special for Koreans, one person told me.

Rhee was also a founder of the Korean School for Girls, which joined with three other schools to become Mid-Pacific Institute.

Korea did a great job with the 2018 Winter Games. Unlike in Sochi, Russia, four years earlier, there was no mention of facilities that were not ready or concerns about security. The 30,000 athletes performed well and were a joy to watch. “Gam sa ham nida” (thank you), Korea!

Bob Sigall’s “The Companies We Keep 5” book has arrived, with stories from the last three years of Rearview Mirror. “

The Companies We Keep 1 and 2” are also back in print. Email Sigall at Sigall@yahoo.com.