Korean Food to Be Served in Space

Korean Food to Be Served in Space

Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon enters the International Space Station in this image from NASA TV, Thursday. Yi is scheduled to return to Earth on April 19 with Expedition 16 crew members ― commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko. / Reuters-Yonhap
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Space food history will be rewritten this weekend, when South Korea's first astronaut, Yi So-yeon, treats her colleagues to kimchi, steamed rice and red pepper paste on the International Space Station (ISS) today, her fifth day in space.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Friday that Yi and two Russian cosmonauts aboard the space station will dine on 10 different foods and beverages prepared for the space mission on Saturday, the anniversary of the first-ever space flight, manned by Yuri Gagarin.
Doenjang (fermented bean) soup, instant noodles and sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch) are among the selections brought by Yi. The 29-year-old will continue to enjoy Korean food ― all bacteria-free ― during her remaining mission, which will end April 19.
Yi boarded the ISS two days after lifting off from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan Tuesday night. As of Friday 4 p.m., the space station was cruising over the western coast of Australia at 27,720 kilometers per hour, 340 kilometers above the earth.
The real-time location of the ISS can be checked online via the NASA Web site.
The space station will be visible from South Korea with the naked eye twice this weekend (from 9:11 p.m. to 9:14 p.m. Saturday and 7:57 p.m. to 8:03 p.m. Sunday), according to the Korea Astronomy & Space Science institute. Information is available at www.kasi.re.kr.
``The view Sunday evening is expected to be clear,'' said KARI official Lee Dong-joo. ``It will be exciting to see our first astronaut flying above us.''
Yi, a bioengineer who is the second Asian female in space, is set out to complete 18 assigned experiments while orbiting before returning to earth next Saturday.
NASA said Thursday that astronauts aboard the ISS will participate in a 30-minute news conference from orbit on April 15.
Summary
Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon enters the International Space Station in this image from NASA TV, Thursday.
South Korea's first astronaut, Yi So-yeon, treats her colleagues to kimchi, steamed rice and red pepper paste on the International Space Station (ISS) today.

Opinion
I think Korea has good location in competitive world by sending her, Yi, to the space because that means South Korea can be one of the dominant countries in astrology. We should consider our attitude toward world trend, which eventually means that marketing of our country will be more important than before. Actually, 2002 world cup is considered Japan world cup by foreigners. This result is from the weakness of marketing of our country. So, we can use our traditional food, culture, clothes, and so on as Kimchi in the space.
5th entry 20600517 Lee, yong jae