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Unlike traditional Japanese food which emphasizes the natural taste of individual ingredients
and is therefore relatively bland, most Korean food is highly spiced with red pepper, garlic and
green onions. Soy sauce and sesame oil are also used regularly in Korean cooking.
In any event, a han-jong shik (hahn-johng sheek) or a "full-course Korean meal," is a
culinary experience of the first order. Basically, a han-jong shik consists of servings of rice,
soup, barbecued beef, steamed short-ribs, grilled fish, kimchi (pickled cabbage) and up to eight
other side dishes. It is customary in Korea for all of the main dishes making up a meal to be
served at the same time. Usually the only exception is fresh fruit, served after the meal as dessert.
While Korean cuisine is not nearly as extensive, as elaborate or as imbued with metaphysical
properties as Chinese cuisine (I have been in some Chinese restaurants that had over 400 dishes
on their menus and have been prompted endlessly on the importance of eating food in a certain
order), food nevertheless occupies a similar position in Korean culture, not only from the
nutritional aspect but also in the social role it plays in Korean life.
In Korea, as in China
and elsewhere, eating together has traditionally been an important part of the bonding process,
with the difference in premodern Korea being that men did not bond with women because the sexes
were socially segregated. Until the middle decades of the 20th century it was customary for
males in Korean families to be served separately from the females, either in separate areas of
the home, or with the menfolk eating first.
Special foods also played key roles in shamanistic ceremonies and the rituals of ancestor
worship that were at the core of family religious practices until well into the 20th century.
The abolition of the feudal family system after Korea regained its sovereignty in 1945
officially ended the segregation of the sexes at meals. Sanctified foods continue play a
leading role in shamanistic rituals, but in most urban families ancestor worship has been
relegated to the status of an annual event.
Since the end of the feudal family system in the 1950s males and females have been eating
together in private as well as in public, and meals, particularly large, formal banquets, are
an integral part of the process of nurturing friendships, business relationships, and honoring
guests. In fact, a great deal of the wealth of Korea is spent each year on yonhoe (yoan-hoe-eh)
or "banquets," to the extent that there are frequent calls for the government to prohibit such
expenditures.
Traditionally, Koreans did not distinguish between breakfast, lunch and dinner foods. Each
meal consisted of one or more main courses and four, five or more pan chan (pahn chahn) or
"side dishes." Like most hosts everywhere, Koreans make a point of encouraging their guests to
eat heartily.
Generally speaking, there are two types of table-settings in Korea: daily dining and
ceremonial dining, the latter referring to such events as weddings, the 100th day celebration
for babies, memorial services for ancestors, and banquets for VIPs. Regardless of what Korean
dishes are served at a meal, or the occasion for the meal, the sang-charim (sahng-chah reem), or
table-setting etiquette, remains the same and is strictly observed.
Steamed ribs or strips of
beef on a chaffing dish are placed in the center of the table. Other dishes of broiled fish,
raw fish, greens and so on are placed around the large chaffing dish in an order to be pleasing
to the eye. Soup and steamed rice or noodles are placed in front of each diner. Hot dishes and
meat dishes are placed to the right of the diner. Cold dishes and vegetable dishes are placed
to the left of the diner. Kimchi, which is made of cabbage, is placed to the right of diners,
apparently in recognition that it is spicy hot.
The custom in Korea is to eat soup and rice with a spoon, and use chotkarak (choat-kah-rahk),
"chopsticks," for eating other dishes. Unlike Japan and China, Koreans consider it bad manners
to pick your rice bowl up and hold it in your hand while eating the rice although this old
taboo is now ignored by many of the younger generation.
Unlike Chinese meals at which loud
conversation and laughter have traditionally been an important part of the ritual of eating,
until recent times, Koreans tended to be much more reserved and quiet. Sipping soups and
slurping noodles was common, however. While some people say making such noises is a sign that
one is enjoying the food, the original reason was probably to cool the food, since it has long
been customary to eat soup and noodles while they are hot.
Korea's traditional eating etiquette
remains a lesson in the country's unique culture, however. If there are elders present, proper
etiquette calls for all diners in the group to wait until the elders have picked up their soup
or rice spoons. In earlier times, younger people could not leave the table until their elders
had finished eating, and talking was considered bad manners. Both of these customs have long
since gone by the wayside, and Korean meals are now lively affairs.
In early April, usually the 5th or the 6th, many Koreans observe a grave-tending day known
as Han Shik (Hahn Sheek), which literally means "Cold Food." Originally associated with
ancestor worship when people were required to perform rituals in memory of their deceased
ancestors, the custom now has more of the spirit of a picnic at which people generally eat
cold food after cleaning family graves. Western food in Korean is Yang Shik (Yahng Sheek).
Korean dishes that are typically the most popular among foreigners include: pulgogi
(puhl-go-ghee) or marinated beef; kalbi (kahl-bee), or broiled ribs; kimbap (keem-bahp), rice
and vegetables rolled in seaweed; naeng myon (nang myohn), cold noodles in soup; and pibimbap
(pee-beem-bahp), a vegetable-rice dish.
Rice is ssal (ssahl) when uncooked and pap (pahp) or
chinji (cheen-jee), which is more honorific, when cooked.
Certain things to keep in mind when
in Korea: people invited out for a meal sometimes bring an unannounced friend, a custom that is
perfectly acceptable. Ordinary restaurants generally do not have individual menus for their
patrons - they post them on the walls on large sign-boards.
In addition to an amazing proliferation of full-scale restaurants and other places that
serve food items, Korea is noted for its pojang macha (poh-jahang mah-chah) or "tent stall
street restaurants" that spring up in the early evening along sidewalks, in parking lots and
other open areas. Larger collections of pojang macha have a carnival-like atmosphere that
attracts large nightly crowds, making them ideal places for getting a taste of the culture of
contemporary Korea. While some visitors to Korea shy away from eating at such stalls for sanitary
reasons, most of the food served is cooked and is as safe as the food in regular restaurants.
In any event, strolling these outdoor nighttime food "malls" is a rewarding social experience
that is highly recommended.
For many, however, actually eating at pojang macha is secondary to
wiling away an evening at these outdoor stalls sipping beer or rice wine and engaging in
animated conversations with friends.
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