Tag Archives: Korean

Don’t sit at the corner of a table

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/23/2022
Primary Language: English
Language: korean

Background: The informant (A) is the son of two Korean immigrants. He moved to a city on the west coast when he was two years old and grew up there, but he was born in Korea and spent many summers there with his family. 

J: When you eat dinner or eat anything I guess, you’re not supposed to sit in the corner. I don’t know exactly why but it’s like bad luck and they say you’ll die earlier. it’s along the lines of it being pointy and sharp and you’ll die

Me: of the table?

J: Yeah, we have like…a circle table I guess at home but when we went out for big group dinners with friends and stuff my parents would tell me not to sit in the corner of a table. And no one else would sit in the corner either.

Context: This was told to me during an in person interview.

Korean Chopstick Etiquette

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/23/2022
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

The informant (J) is the son of two Korean immigrants. He moved to a city on the west coast when he was two years old and grew up there, but he was born in Korea and spent many summers there with his family.

J: When you eat rice or something you’re not supposed to stab your fork or chopsticks into the rice because it’s the symbol of like…you’re killing someone.

Me: Like it resembles the motion of stabbing someone?

J: Or no like, it’s…an incense funeral thing. Cause at a funeral you have an incense candle thing that you stick into this bowl and it sticks out and you light it

Me: Why do you do that at funerals?

J: I think it’s just to like…honor the dead I guess.

Me: Where’d you learn about the chopstick thing and the incense?

J: Um… I think my parents probably just told me not to like…stick my chopsticks into my food like when I was younger. I went to Korean school when I was a kid too and I’m pretty sure they told us about funerals

Context: This was told to me while we were in the living room of the informant’s apartment.

SOUPY VS. STICKY FOODS BEFORE AN EXAM

Nationality: Korean-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 21, 2021
Primary Language: English

MAIN PIECE: 

Informant: So in Korean culture… Before like a test or an exam you’re recommended not to drink or eat something that’s like soupy or runny. So, like, don’t have soup on the day of. And you should rather have something sticky like sticky rice or taffy or something like that, that has that like “oomph” to it… ‘Cause the correlation there is like, you drink something runny or you eat something that moves, then that information will leave with it. But if you have something sticky, that’ll help your brain stick that information into your head. 

INFORMANT’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE PIECE: 

Interviewer: Do you practice this?

Informant: No, I don’t. It’s just something my mom told me about… I haven’t really thought about it before like now. 

Interviewer: But have you ever tried or tested it?

Informant: No, I haven’t.

REFLECTION:

According to James George Frazer, homeopathic magic is magic in which like produces like. We see that manifested here, as soupy foods are believed to wash away information, whereas sticky foods encourage information to stick. The idea that what you consume can directly impact your performance in daily life is not unique to Korean culture; it is widely accepted that food is tied to health. Science shows that eating certain foods leads to different physical outcomes (ex. eating carbohydrates versus eating protein before working out). What is unique about this Korean belief is that it is not based on the nutritional value of a food, but on how soupy or how sticky it is––on texture or consistency. This is why it is more likely to be considered a form of magic, than a science-based belief.

MIYEOK GUK

Nationality: Korean-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, USA
Performance Date: April 21, 2021
Primary Language: English

MAIN PIECE:

Informant: So in Korea there’s this soup called Miyeok Guk. It is…  Essentially like a seaweed soup. And um… Seaweed has like iron in it, I believe. And in your blood… Your like hemoglobin has iron in it as well? So Korean reasoning is that, whenever a woman gives birth, she loses a lot of blood with that. So to make up for it, you should have food that can supply your body with iron, such as Miyeok Guk and seaweed. So on birthdays, in addition to like cake and just like normal birthday routines, the traditional side of it is eating Miyeok Guk and seaweed… For the iron that your mom lost. 

INFORMANT’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE PIECE: 

Informant: I do practice this. Cause I like Miyeok Guk.

Interviewer: So you’re really consuming it for the taste? 

Informant: Yeah… I mean… I also think that we all have a desire to keep our culture going. I think when we’re younger it was easy to forget about and not care. Like, “Who cares what they’ve done for a thousand years, Imma do me…” My dad was born in Korea but moved to Guam and later Hawaii and later Anaheim. So he’s very Americanized. My mom didn’t leave Korea until college, so she was always the more traditional Korean side of the family… But my dad and I are more Americanized. Um… But yeah, as time has gone on, I feel like it’s good to keep some things, even if it has zero significance or importance… Even if it’s just soup that reminds me of my mom, it’s nice to continue on with those little traditions. 

REFLECTION:

Korean birthday tradition honors the mother by including food that recognizes the hardship of childbirth. The informant, while also consuming Miyeok Guk for taste, has grown to appreciate this food as a symbol of his mother. This is multifaceted, as Miyeok Guk is both a Korean symbol of the mother in general, but also a reminder of the informant’s mother specifically, who passed this tradition onto him. This demonstrates how food can have a “broad” cultural significance, but also a more intimate, immediate, familial significance. Thus, there are several reasons that food traditions might be upheld. This tradition also seems to hint at an appreciation for the mother within Korean culture. 

Chuseok: Korean Thanksgiving

Nationality: American; Korean
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fairfield, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/25/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Main Text: 

Chuseok: Korean Thanksgiving 

Background on Informant: 

Currently a student, my informant grew up in a Korean household and has shared with me the many traditions she grew up practicing and experienced throughout her life. 

Context: 

She explains:

“In Korea we have this ‘holiday’ called Chuseok, which translates to ‘Autumn eve’.  It is celebrated on August 15th as it usually is a full moon on the lunar calendar and goes on for three days. It is kind of like a harvest festival and can be said to be an equivalent to the American Thanksgiving. 

Because we live in the USA and not Korea, we don’t follow the tradition to a tee, as it would require us to go to our hometown to visit our ancestors. 

Instead we hang up pictures of our dead relatives and bow down to their pictures as a sign of respect and ask them for guidance or luck. 

After our version of this ‘ancestral worship’ we have a huge feast  which includes: Songpyeon (rice cake), Jeon (Korean pancake), Japchae (noodle dish), and many others. 

Sometimes we have relatives or family friends who give us gifts but this one is more of a modern custom that hasn’t been around for that long. 

I love celebrating it, I think it really helps implement my Korean identity, and it’s a really fun tradition.”

Analysis/Thoughts: 

Before this interview, I did not know much about the Chuseok celebration, but was indeed intrigued after hearing my informant tell me about her experiences. As a first generation American myself, I know firsthand the struggle of trying to retain your cultural identity, and how typical traditions have had to morph somewhat into the American ideals. I love how even though her family can’t be in Korea they have developed their own version on how to celebrate that I find beautiful and heart-warming. I like how they continue to practice this in order to preserve their heritage and customs and how it has played an important part in my informants’ life and her connection to her culture. Overall, I love this tradition and how even though it has a long past, it continues to be practiced and the honor that is given to ancestors as a means of wisdom and remembrance.