German hotel manager applauds Korean `jeong`

Bernhard Brender, the general manager of the Grand Hilton Seoul in Hongjae-dong, is a veteran hotelier who has been working in the industry for more than 30 years.

The German national is one of those GMs who started off as a chef and later stepped into management.

"It all started in mother`s kitchen eating and tasting. Born just after the World War II, there was a shortage of food and I was always hungry, finding my way into the kitchen area," he said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

After some years of kitchen experience, he started to look at other areas in hotels like sales and engineering out of curiosity, Brender said.

After working a year as the F&B director at Sheraton Hong Kong, Brender came to Korea in 1991. This is when he gave up his chef uniform for a black suit and took on the job of vice GM. Later, he also worked as a GM at the Westin Chosun Seoul and also the Millennium Seoul Hilton.



"Having basic knowledge about the culinary field is tantamount to running hotels -- especially being certified in the cooking trade helps in understanding the complexity of kitchens," he said.

Brender said he considers his guests "patients" in need of help.

Because most travelers have a hard time after flights and thus expect to be taken care of and served when they arrive at the hotel, Brender said he started offering late check-outs, discounts, drinks and medicines. This, he said, has won many return-visitors to the hotel.

Brender said that Grand Hilton Seoul intends to provide a "home away from home"-kind of atmosphere with a number of advantages it has -- its location in the mountains offers georgeous views and a nature-friendly environment; it is the closest five star hotel in Seoul from Incheon International Airport; and it has a convention center connected to the main hotel building.



Having spent over half of his career here in Seoul, Brender says Korea feels like home.

Captivated by its friendly people and four-seasoned nature, Brender has been expressing his love for Korea and publicizing the country abroad as an honorary citizen of Seoul since 2005.

"Jeong," a concept special to Koreans which refers to sympathetic emotions and ties shared among close people, was what especially impressed him, he said.

"Whenever I go to hospitals I find that patients are not left alone. I think they can cope with their illness because their relatives provide comfort and love. It`s something that Westerners can adopt and learn from," Brender said.

But because he loves Korea so much, Brender said he wants to be left as a foreigner to the country.

"I love the country too much that I don`t want to be a part of it. If I become one, then I won`t have anything to offer -- like teaching English or knowledge about Germany -- to its people," he said.

Asked of his future plans, Brender, who is in his sixties, said he will continue pursuing his career at the hotel while teaching at Ewha Womans University. He will also ski in the winter and added that he will "never retire" since his passion for learning and working is still bigger for him than his will to rest.

"I could still work as a chef at any kitchen, too. Cooking is my passion and I am a great promoter of Korean cuisine," he said.

(youngaah@heraldm.com)

By Koh Young-aah