K-food king

Bam Bam shares Korean flavours

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of Korea Agro-Trade Center

To promote Korean food to Thai people, Kunpimook Bhuwakul (Bam Bam), the Thai singer from K-pop boy band Got7, was chosen by the Korea Agro-Trade Center to be the ambassador for K-Food Day. The event was held at the Korean Cultural Center on September 19. The press wasn’t invited to attend the fan meeting, but we heard that Bam Bam sang a ballad, Jeff Bernat’s “Call You Mine,” and played games with lucky fans.

The 18-year-old Bam Bam talked with Student Weekly at a group interview, where the funny MC, DJ Que, spiced up the atmosphere with great jokes. Here are some highlights from the interview.

Question: How did you first adjust to eating Korean food?

Bam Bam: Before I went to Korea I visited Korean Town in Bangkok and ate there often. So I was already used to the food.

Question: What’s the difference between Thai and Korean food?

Bam Bam: Many Koreans have told me that Thai cuisine has strong tastes of lemon and chilli. Kimji seems to be in most Korean dishes, and many dishes are orange. But despite the similar colour, their flavours are different.

Question: What Korean food would you recommend to your fans?

Bam Bam: All of Got7 like to eat koat gae tang (spicy blue crab stew). It’s like a Korean tom yam kung. It’s spicy and when you eat it your throat may feel itchy or you might cough a bit. But we enjoy it.

Question: If you took your fans to dinner, what kind of Thai cuisine would you order?

Bam Bam: Somtam pu aara (papaya salad with crab and fermented fish) with only two chillies. This dish is my favourite, but it’s difficult to find in Korea.

Question: Do the members of Got7 cook?

Bam Bam: We each make instant noodles in own style. JB is very good at cooking noodles because he adds the right amount of water while Jin Young uses too much.

Question: Besides instant noodles, do you guys cook anything else?

Bam Bam: We like to buy beef and the other members told me I’m good at grilling. While I prepare the beef, Mark and Jackson always say they will prepare kimji and rice. But once, after I finished cooking, I found they’d fallen asleep. [Laughs.] So, I had to go out to buy rice at a restaurant.

Question: Can you tell us more about your upcoming album, Mad?

Bam Bam: For this album, we won’t have a cute image anymore. We’ll be more masculine.

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