Baechujeon: The Humble Cabbage Pancake Connected to President Lee Jae Myung’s Roots
A plate of baechujeon does not look like a presidential meal.
Made by coating cabbage leaves in a light flour batter and pan-frying them until tender, this Korean cabbage pancake is inexpensive, uncomplicated, and deeply comforting. Yet its humble character makes it especially meaningful when discussed alongside the life of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Lee was born in 1964 into an impoverished farming family in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Food was not always plentiful, and his childhood was shaped by hunger, farm labor, and long walks to school.
His family could not afford to send him to middle school. After elementary school, he moved to Seongnam and began working in factories while still a young teenager. At one factory, his arm was severely injured in a press, leaving him with a permanent disability.
Nevertheless, he continued studying outside the traditional school system. He passed middle- and high-school equivalency examinations, entered Chung-Ang University on a scholarship, earned a degree in law, passed the national judicial examination, and eventually became a human-rights and labor lawyer.
Decades later, the former child factory worker became president of South Korea.
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A Pancake Made From an Ordinary Cabbage Leaf
Baechujeon begins with napa cabbage—the same vegetable used to make Korea’s most famous kimchi. Unlike many Korean pancakes filled with seafood, meat, or numerous vegetables, traditional baechujeon can be strikingly simple.
Whole cabbage leaves are softened slightly, coated in a thin flour batter, and fried in a lightly oiled pan. Some cooks use plain water in the batter, while others add anchovy or kelp broth for more flavor.
The finished pancake should remain delicate. Its surface is lightly crisp, while the cabbage inside becomes soft and naturally sweet. It is usually served with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, vinegar, and sometimes red pepper flakes.
Baechujeon is particularly associated with the inland regions of Gyeongsang Province, including Andong, where Lee was born. In a poor rural household, cabbage and flour could create a warm dish without requiring expensive ingredients.
The Foods That Remain in Our Memory
President Lee has publicly spoken about his attachment to siraegi, dried radish greens commonly used in soups and stews. He described it as a food filled with memories and selected it as a Korean ingredient he would like to introduce internationally.
He has also said that one of his favorite dishes prepared by his wife is braised mackerel with siraegi.
Such foods share something important with baechujeon. They are not luxurious dishes designed to impress guests. They were created by ordinary families who knew how to turn inexpensive vegetables into satisfying meals.
For someone who grew up with hunger, these flavors can carry a meaning that expensive food cannot replace. They recall a mother’s cooking, a rural home, and the resourcefulness required to feed a family with very little.
Is Baechujeon Really His Favorite Food?
Baechujeon has been associated with Lee’s rural roots and his preference for simple traditional food. However, reliable published sources do not clearly establish it as his single favorite dish.
It would therefore be more accurate to regard baechujeon as one of the humble regional foods that reflects the world in which he grew up. His documented affection for siraegi provides an even clearer example of how strongly those early food memories have remained with him.
The distinction matters, but it does not weaken the story. In fact, it reveals something more universal: people may rise to positions of wealth and power, yet the foods that comfort them often remain the simplest ones they knew as children.
More Than Poor People’s Food
Baechujeon should not be valued merely because it was inexpensive. Its appeal comes from the transformation of an ordinary ingredient.
Heat softens the thick cabbage stem. The leaf becomes sweet, the batter develops crisp golden edges, and a little dipping sauce supplies saltiness and acidity. With only a few ingredients, the dish demonstrates the quiet skill found throughout Korean home cooking.
Today, baechujeon can be enjoyed by anyone—whether served at a traditional restaurant, cooked at home on a rainy afternoon, or remembered as part of a childhood in the Korean countryside.
A president may dine at formal banquets, but a simple cabbage pancake can still tell a more powerful story. It speaks of hardship, perseverance, and the flavors people carry with them no matter how far they travel from where they began.
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