A vegetable I only ever knew as "pimang" (bell pepper), and I just learned for the first time that it's called by different names depending on the country. A South Asian international student sent me a text asking me to order some capsicum. As it turns out, it meant bell peppers. "Pimang" is said to be from French.

I also learned for the first time that Koreans use the word "pimang" because it was introduced from Japan. Strangely enough, people from South Asian cultural backgrounds in the past didn't use the word "pimang" and exclusively used "capsicum." Perhaps because people of Indian descent migrated to Australia, cultivated bell peppers, and spread the word "capsicum," Australians use the word "capsicum" as well.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]