Faker’s Culinary Journey: How Korean Food Wins Hearts in Paris as T1 Prepares for 2024 LoL World Championship Finals

sport | sports/games

[스포츠서울 | 런던=김민규 기자] “Korean food is the best.”

There is a saying, ‘Koreans live with their rice.’ Babsim is a combination of rice and strength, and its true meaning is ‘the strength gained after eating rice.’ If you think about it carefully, adults always reassured you by saying, ‘Eat well and go home.’ That’s how good the emotional meaning of ‘rice’ is.

There are times when a question is asked as if it were an obvious greeting. For example, this is an interview with ‘Faker’ Lee Sang-hyeok (28) after T1 confirmed that he advanced to the finals of the ‘2024 LoL World Championship (World Cup)’. This is a story that could not be told in Paris.

As we made a side note, I asked ‘Faker’, “How about Parisian food? “Did you have a good meal?” he asked, leading to an unexpectedly long conversation.

Lee Sang-hyeok said, “I tried a goose liver (foie gras) dish and a snail dish in Paris, and it was a really good experience, but I thought it wasn’t respond well to the Korean palate.” I worked hard to save money with my team and we went to a restaurant with two Michelin stars.” We went, but it didn’t suit our tastes. “I think I had a good experience,” he said with a smile.

He added, “However, Paris seems to have a more gourmet culture than Berlin. “Especially, Korean food culture is well established in Paris,” he said, “I work hard to get my meals by going to many Korean restaurants in Paris. “They are saying that Koreans are hungry for food, and I think Korean food is most suitable for them,” he said strongly.

For a while, it became a place to recommend Korean food. The interview ended after a short discussion about what kind of Korean food is delicious.

And a fun relationship ensued. Maybe it’s because I talked about Korean food with ‘Faker’ (?), but I went to a Korean restaurant in Paris to have dinner. That time when I ordered seafood soft tofu stew, bulgogi, japchae, royal tteokbokki, etc. and waited for the food to come out. The restaurant door opened and familiar faces entered one by one.

I smiled and said hello to ‘Little’ coach Kim Jeong-gyun and ‘Tom’ coach Lim Jae-hyeon. Then, ‘Owner’ Hyun-jun Moon, Min-hyeong ‘Kumayushi’ Lee, Min-seok ‘Keria’ Ryu, and Woo-je ‘Zeus’ Choi entered the restaurant one after the other. I greeted each player individually and congratulated them.

Lee Sang-hyeok was the last to enter as he was taking pictures with local fans outside the restaurant. When I told Lee Sang-hyuk, “As expected, Korean food is the best,” he did his signature ‘thumbs up’ standing with a smile. This is the time when another amazing relationship was created in Paris in 2024.

Here, I had a long chat with T1 bot duo ‘Keria’ and ‘Kumayushi’. Furthermore, after the meal, ‘Keria’ sat in the empty seat next to her and talked about various things such as ‘her life in Paris’. He also complained that he was not able to enjoy Paris because he was working so hard. Many stories blossomed with ‘Kumayushi’, including the incident where he ate a large croissant prepared by the broadcasters and shouted ‘good’.

A chance meeting at a Korean restaurant in Paris ended with the greeting, “See you in England.” The T1 team arrived in London, England on the 28th and are preparing for the final against BLG China which will be held on November 2nd. You must have discovered Korean food in London too. I am looking forward to lifting the championship trophy with ‘Bobsim’. [email protected]