KOREAN NET

Bethel Ramyeon, the Beloved Restaurant in the Old City of Jerusalem

There’s a famous restaurant in the Old City of Jerusalem. ‘Bethel Ramyeon,’ operated by the Korean community in the area. The word ‘bethel (bayit)’ is the Hebrew word for ‘house,’ making Bethel Ramyeon ‘the house of ramyeon.’ The Korea-Israel Club (‘KOR-ISR Club’) has been giving out Korean ramyeon to Israelis for free over a year and a half to raise awareness on Korean culture. The place becomes packed with Israeli locals on every Tuesday from 1 PM to 7 PM.

Every Tuesday, Bethel Ramyeon becomes the center of communication between Koreans and Jews

The KOR-ISR Club’s project started with the “caring heart of a mother” wanting to make a place for communication between Koreans in Israel and the locals as well as providing the most simple and easy-to-make Korean food, which in this case, was ramyeon. To grab as much local attention as possible, the club prepared over ten kinds of ramyeon, including vegetable ramyeon for vegetarians and brands that keep kosher, the ingredients, and cooking methods of the Jewish commandments. Even kosher bowls were set in place as one out of every ten Jews keep kosher.

Over ten kinds of various Korean ramyeon are arranged for customers.

When customers get to Bethel Ramyeon, all they have to do is pick the ramyeon they want to eat. Kimchi and rice are also provided with ramyeon, and customers can even get fried eggs if they order black bean sauce ramyeon. All these dishes are for free, but what’s even more surprising is that they are unlimited. “Isn't Korean ramyeon too spicy in Israel, considering its Mediterranean diet?” Put your worries aside. Many locals come here to have Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen, which is known to be super spicy, and those who can’t eat spicy food can order mild noodles. All of these activities come from the support of those who want to advertise Korean culture.

The members of KOR-ISR Club are cooking ramyeon.

When Bethel Ramyeon opened a year and a half ago, only three to four Israelis visited despite the promotion through Facebook and Instagram. But after the word spread around the local community that was in love with Korean culture, the restaurant’s followers on social media quickly grew to 2,500, leading 50 to 60 bowls to be ordered on average in one day. When there are a lot of visitors, the number would even go up to 200 bowls. Currently, the place became so famous that it has been registered on Google Maps as a ramyeon restaurant.

Asenath is helping out the KOR-ISR Club by scooping rice and serving.

About 15 locals are regular customers to the restaurant, making a visit every week. Asenath, one of the regular Jewish visitors, stated, “Bethel Ramyeon brings warmth to my heart as if I’m home.” She is immersed in the affectionate Korean culture and Korean people, even stepping out to help serving, dishwashing, and cleaning. Raheli, takes pictures of all the families of each KOR-ISR Club member to create a photo album as a gift and even goes on to celebrate each member’s birthday. She showed her love for Koreans in Israel as she claims that she has more fun spending time with Koreans than her local friends on her birthday. After her trip to Korea, she said, “I grew to love Koreans here even more because they left the comforts in their homeland to live with us in the challenging environment of Israel.” Lim Eun-sun, the leader of the KOR-ISR Club, stated that she feels rewarded when locals appreciate their ramyeon dishes and say thanks. She added that she receives positive energy from her young Jew friends who visits the restaurant every Tuesday.

Rita made a visit to Bethel Ramyeon with her friend Hilla (middle) and daughter Oraya (right)

Most locals who visit Bethel Ramyeon come to the place not only for a bowl of noodles but to chat with Koreans and learn their language. Rita is from Petah Tikva, a city about an hour away from Jerusalem, and she made her first visit to the restaurant with her daughter and her friend, Hilla. She was filled with joy from the moment she entered and said, “A friend of mine recommended this restaurant, and I absolutely fell in love with the place because I can have a bowl of good Korean ramyeon and use the words I learned in Korean series at the same time.” Meanwhile, her daughter Oraya chatted with Koreans on Korean series in Korean with even better fluency than her mother and finished her bowl of ramyeon after adding rice.

Tteokguk prepared by Koreans for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year’s

Snowflake Shaved Ice was the locals’ favorite, 200 bowls were served in one day.

Bethel Ramyeon also holds various events. The 26th of last month was the Jewish New Year’s, and the restaurant gave out tteokguk, a traditional dish served on Korean New Year’s. Last week, Koreans even brought an ice grinder from their homeland to serve shaved ice for locals. Wide range of events has contributed to Bethel Ramyeon becoming a cultural intersection for Koreans and Israelis, going beyond simply being a restaurant where locals can have free noodles.