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Wen mingles with Koreans in Seoul

By Zhang Jin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-31 07:32

Clad in a sports suit, Premier Wen Jiabao plays badminton with local residents during morning exercise in Seoul’s Han River Park on Saturday.[Zhou Zhaojun/China News Service]

SEOUL - Sharing some light moments during his visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK), Premier Wen Jiabao played badminton, admitted he liked Korean food and revealed that Chinese poems can sometimes best speak his mind.

Wen was in the ROK to meet President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama for a summit in Jeju.

Sharing his views of Chinese literature with 24 ROK students at the Chinese Culture Center in Seoul on Saturday morning, Wen says he likes poems that inspire.

One of his favorites was composed by Wen Tianxiang, a prime minister during the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279): No living soul can avoid death, but a loyal heart can live to shine in history.

"These lines are encouraging and drive me to work hard," he says.

Famous for citing poems when meeting reporters, Wen Jiabao says he does the same during talks with global leaders. "Poems speak my mind and I quote them to make my points easily understood."

Once, he said, he used famous lines from Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) poet Li Bai - you can enjoy a grander sight by climbing to a greater height - to urge a national leader to look forward and have a broader vision on ties with China.

But the premier did not say on what occasion he quoted the lines.

In another encounter with local people on Saturday morning, Wen jogged along Seoul's Han River.

Wearing a sports suit, he was greeted by other morning runners, some of whom looked surprised to see the Chinese leader.

A jogger, Lee Cheon-shuen, claimed she was a fan of Wen, and asked what he thought of Korean food.

"I like it, sure," Wen said, adding he was impressed by the pickles and Korean shabu-shabu - a kind of hotpot - that he had on Friday.

A happy Wen attempted to join three young men playing baseball, but was told they didn't have a glove for the left-handed premier. His love of the sport, however, prompted him to play without a glove, as he skillfully pitched the ball and won applause from the crowd. He even signed the baseball for the young men.

The premier also played badminton that morning.