Korean for Dummies (18 page)

Dig In! Let’s Eat!

The variety of side dishes gives each and every Korean meal a very subtle difference in the dining experience. The biggest difference in Korean dining obviously comes from the main dish, which varies and is shared by everyone on the table. Regardless of how the meal is set up, you will encounter many reasons to talk about food, and the sections that follow tell you how to let others know that you’re hungry, different words and phrases related to cuisine, as well as the proper table manners you should be using.

10_037188-ch05.qxp 6/24/08 11:08 PM Page 94

Understanding meal time

The Korean word for a meal is
bap
(
bab; meal, rice
). In a broad sense, it simply means, meal. However, when Koreans refer to as
bap
usually, it is a bowl of steamed rice. When sitting at a table, each person is given a bowl of rice, and many side dishes are shared between the people sitting with you at the table, which enhances the sense of community and family in the dining experience. These side dishes are known as
banchan
(
banchan;
side dishes), and it’s the variety of these side dishes that create the liquid, ever-changing format of a Korean table. The whole meal itself,
bap
and
banchan,
is also referred to as
bap
.

The verb “to eat,” is
meokda
(
muhk-da
). The phrase
bap meogeoseoyo?
(
bap
muh-guh-ssuh-yo;
Have you eaten food?) is a common, casual greetings between friends and family. If you want to ask someone if they would like to eat with you, you would ask
jeorang gachi bap meogeullaeyo
? (
juh-rang
ga-chi bap muh-geul-lae-yo;
Would you like to eat with me?) Another verb “to eat” is
deusida
(
deu-shi-dal
). This verb is usually used with more formal form of the word meal, which is
jinji
(
jin-ji;
respectful way of saying meal). Use the phrase
jinji deuseyo
(
jin-ji deu-sae-yo;
Please eat your meal) with foreign dignitary or your elders when you are asking them to eat their meal. In addition, when you are asking them if they have eaten already, use the phrase
jinji deusyeoseoyo?
(
jin-ji deu-syuh-ssuh-yo;
Have you eaten?) instead.

Other times, the meals are referred to according to the time of day. Achim (
-a-chim;
morning, breakfast),
jeomsim
(
jum-shim;
lunch time, lunch), and
jeonyeok
(
juh-nyeok;
evening, dinner), which means morning, afternoon and evening, respectively, can be replaced with the word
bap
to refer to the meals. So,
achim meogeotseoyo?
(
a-chim muh-guh-ssuh-yo
?) translates into, “Have you eaten breakfast?” and
jeomsim deusyeosseoyo?
(
jum-sim deu-seot-syuh-yo
?) into “Have you had lunch?” and
jeonyeok deuseyo
(
juh-nyeok deu-sae-yo
) means, “let’s have dinner” and so forth.

Another word for a meal, a more respectful is
siksa
(
shik-sa;
meal). You use this term when you’re in a more formal setting, like addressing your elders, or people you are not yet familiar with. Siksa hasyeosseoyo? (
Shik-sa ha-syuh-ssuh-yo?
) is a proper and more respectful way of asking, “have you eaten?” These are commonly used when you are asking your parents, in-laws, teachers, and business partners, if they have eaten already. Another phrase
siksa haseoyo
(
shik-sa ha-sae-yo;
please eat) is a proper way to ask some one to eat.

10_037188-ch05.qxp 6/24/08 11:08 PM Page 95

Satisfying your hunger

Gopayo
(
go-pa-yo
) means to yearn, or to crave. So,
bae gopayo
(
bae go-pa-yo
),means, “I’m hungry.” In the case of
bae gopayo
, the inflection can change the meaning of the phrase. What I mean by this is, if you say
bae gopayo?

(
bae-go-pa-yo
), that means, “Are you hungry?”, whereas if you were to say
bae
gopayo
(
bae go-pa-yo
),” that means, “I’m hungry.”
bae gopuseyo?
(
bae go-peu-sae-yo
) means are you hungry? in a more respectful way.

Asking someone whether they have eaten or not is more than just a greeting in Korea. It shows consideration of others, which is a quality highly regarded by Koreans. Remember the phrase, “
siksa hasyeosseoyo?
(
shik-sa ha-syuh-ssuh-yo;
have you eaten?” and it will serve you well if you want a Korean person to take you out to eat.

Your
mok
(
mok
) is your neck, or your throat.
mallayo
means dry, or parched.

So, put those two together, and you get,
mok mallayo
(
mok mal-la-yo
), which are translated into “My throat is parched,” or “I’m thirsty.”

In Korean, your
bae
(
bae
) is your stomach. Putting all this together, you can come up with many different ways to suggest to go and eat somewhere. For instance, you could say, “
bae gopayo. bap meogeureo gayo
(
bae go-pa-yo.

bab muh-geu-ruh ga-yo
),” which translates into “I’m hungry, let’s have lunch.”

A variation of this, in a more formal tone, would be, “
bae gopayo. siksa hareo
gasijyo.
(
bae go-pa-yo. shik-sa ha-ruh ga-shi-jyo
),” which translates into, “I’m hungry, let’s go have a meal.”

unje
(
un-jae
) means, “sometime or when.”
hanbeon
(
han-bun
) means, “once.”

Siksa
(
shik-sa
) means “meal.”
hapsida
(
hap-shi-da
) means, “let’s do.”
gachi
(
ga-chi
) means, “together.” Literally translated,
unje hanbeon gachi siksa
habsida
! (
un-jae hanbeon ga-chi shik-sa hap-shi-da
) means, “let’s share one meal sometime.” In casual Korean usage, it’s an expression that is used to stay in touch with acquaintances without actually committing to a plan. An English equivalent would be, “we should get together for dinner sometime.” If you get rid of the word
unje
, which means “sometime,” and
hanbeon
, which means, “once,” and
gachi
, which means “together,” the phrase
siksa hap-shida
(
shik-sa hap-shi-da
) becomes more like a request.

Sitting down to eat

The first thing you may notice about a Korean table is that it looks quite busy. You have a bowl of rice in front of you, possibly a small bowl of soup, a pair of chopsticks, and a spoon sits to your right. Surrounding your bowls of rice and soup are these little plates containing various vegetables and meats and eggs which are called
banchan
(
banchan;
side dishes). A staple sidedish, or
banchan
in Korean cooking is
gimchi
(
gim-chi
), which is pickled cabbage.

A meal without
gimchi
is unthinkable for most Koreans.

10_037188-ch05.qxp 6/24/08 11:08 PM Page 96

If you and a friend were to go to a Korean restaurant, you would have your bowl of rice, and a small bowl of soup. The main dishes would be put

between the two of you, surrounded by little side dishes, which you two share. This is quite different from the Western dining experience where everyone gets their own portion and eats from their own plates. This sharing of meals and mixing of utensils may turn off some Westerners overly con-cerned with germs.

In every Korean household the whole family shares meals every day at the dinner table. Even at Western restaurants, you may see Koreans sharing meals by swapping halves of their dishes, as sharing a meal is an important aspect of Korean dining.

sutgarak
(
soo-ga-rak
),
sutgal
(
soot-gal
), or
sujeo
(
soo-juh
) means a spoon, and
jeotgarak
(
juh-ga-rak
), or
jeotgal
(
jut-gal
) means chopsticks. These two utensils are all you ever need in eating Korean food, but if you’re not familiar with using chopsticks, feel free to ask for a fork and knife, which most restaurants will be happy to provide for you.

I’ve included a few vocabulary terms in Table 5-1 so that you may familiarize yourself with various Korean terms used in and around the kitchen.

Table 5-1

Culinary Terms

Korean Word

Pronunciation

Translation

keop

kup

Cup

jeopshi

jup-shi

Plate

jaengban

jaengban

Tray

gonggi

gong-gi

Bowl

sogeum

so-geum

Salt

seoltang

suhl-tang

Sugar

huchu

hoo-choo

Black pepper

sikcho

shik-cho

Vinegar

chamgireum

cham–gi-reum

Sesame seed oil

seupageti

seu-pa-gae-tee

Spaghetti

ppang

ppang

Bread

pija

pee-ja

Pizza

saelleodeu

sael-uh-deu

Salad

10_037188-ch05.qxp 6/24/08 11:08 PM Page 97

Korean Word

Pronunciation

Translation

saendeuwichi

saendeu-wee-chi

Sandwich

seuteikeu

seu-tae-ee-keu

Steak

pa

pa

Green onions

yangpa

yang-pa

Onions

tomato

to-ma-to

Tomato

beurokeolli

beu-ro-col-li

Broccoli

yangbaechu

yangbae-choo

Cabbage

gamja

gam-ja

Potato

gogi

go-gee

Meat

sogogi

so-go-gee

Beef

dakgogi

dak-go-gee

Chicken

dwaejigogi

dwae-jee-go-gee

Pork

saengseon

saeng-sun

Fish

gyeran

gae-ran

Egg

maneul

ma-neul

Garlic

danggeun

danggeun

Carrot

dubu

doo-boo

Tofu

mandu

man-doo

Dumpling, pot sticker

subak

soo-bak

Watermelon

sagwa

sa-gwa

Apple

orenji

o-ren-jee

Orange

You will find very little difference between breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Korean cooking. Many Koreans eat a bowl of rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The difference is that the breakfast tends to be a bit lighter with soups in light broth and maybe some fish. Lunch is a robust affair, with a variety of choices, and dinner usually consists of a main dish which is either fish or some kind of meat. A drink after work is a temptation that many working Koreans find hard to resist. Especially during dinner with friends or co-workers, liquor often finds its way onto the table. This is also a great way to build relationships between people and co-workers. (See the section, “Drinking, Korean Style,” later in this chapter for more on drinking alcohol.) 10_037188-ch05.qxp 6/24/08 11:08 PM Page 98

Practicing good table manners

Due to its Confucian background and history, honoring elders is an important aspect in Korean culture. Even the eating habits of Koreans exhibit this. But there is more to table manners than simply honoring your elders. In fact, in Korea, the following slight gestures and mannerisms will show the people you are dining with that you took the time to learn the proper etiquette and will go a long way in impressing them: Your spoon should never be picked up until the elder at the table picks up his spoon.

Don’t talk loudly during meals or make slurping or smacking sounds

while eating.

After finishing your meal, you should put the spoon and chopsticks back to their original setting, and not leave them in the bowl.

You should not rise from the dining table before other members have

finished their meal.

Before the meal, you always thank your host by saying, “
jal meokgetseumnida”
(
jal muh-get-sseumni-da;
I will eat it well).

After the meal, it is customary to compliment the cook or the host, oftentimes by saying, “
jal meogeotseumnida”
(
jal muh-guh-sseumni-da;
I have eaten it well).

You should always offer to pour a drink for your elders, and you should pour with the right hand, as you support your right wrist with your left hand.

In receiving a drink, the hand positions should be the same, with your right hand holding the cup and your left hand supporting your right

wrist, with your head slightly bowed.

Getting to Know Korean Cuisine

Because the country is situated in a peninsula, the Koreans eat a lot of seafood. Though their staple is rice and vegetables, meats, poultry, and fish are enjoyed in moderation, cooked with seasonal vegetables. Korean culinary history predates electricity and refrigeration, and if you ever travel to the countryside in Korea, you can still see how the food was kept before the days of electricity. In front of many houses in the countryside, you can see rows and rows of wide, earthenware crock jars that sit on nice, well-ventilated stands. These jars contain everything from soy sauce, hot pepper paste, soybean paste, to all different kinds of
gimchi
(
gim-chi;
pickled cabbage), and the biggest one usually contains rice.