Bun Dae Ki: Filling Small Bellies

A friend was looking at my blog and shared a story with me that I want to share with you. He was a child in Korea during the Korean War. School was cancelled during the war, but when the war was over the children were happy to return to school again.


The only problem was that they didn't have a school building. So classes were held under a tree beside a silk factory. A by-product from the silk factory was the pupae, Bun Dae Ki. Food was scarce at that time, so the children ate Bun Dae Ki each day for their mid-day meal.


Recall from my earlier posting that Bun Dae Ki is a rich protein source. This food helped sustain the children through those difficult times. 


This little boy who ate Bun Dae Ki at school later attended Seoul National University. After graduation and military service, he came to the United States with very little money...but he did have admission into graduate school at Columbia University. The little boy earned a PhD in and became a college professor.


While working as a college professor, he began a consulting business which became quite successful. He has now sold the business and has become financially wealthy. Now he can afford to eat almost anything he wants, but it was food such as the Bun Dae Ki that nurtured him and gave him the opportunity to accomplish so much!


This story makes me feel so thankful for the abundance I have always had because of my luck being born in my middle-class family in the United States. For my friend, although he suffered during those difficult times, perhaps it was surviving adversity that gave him the self-discipline to become so successful. That self-discipline, along with his incredible intellect was the combination that brought him so far from that outdoors classroom. 


Thank you Bun Dae Ki!