Korean Convenient Food, Etiquette And Manners

Korean Convenient Food 

Nowadays Korea also have come up many type of instant food, which also known as ‘Korean Ettiquette and Mannersconvenient’, frozen food where they can just put in a microwave for a few minutes and they can enjoy the meal. This type of convenient food recently can be found in most of the stores and markets. This food also has been exported to many countries as they can help reducing the effort to make certain dishes. Unfortunately, this may be one of the negative impact for the global, as the people have changed their taste, where mostly they enjoyed eating convenient and fast foods rather than cook by themselves or choose a healthy food.

The trends of Korean people eat nowadays, especially teenagers who just got back after school, or students in the university come up with the recipe using most of the convenient food at the stores. For example, they mixed up instant tteobokki with ramen and sausage, with cheese at the top. This ‘mixture’ of instant food becomes a trend that most of the Korean people, thinking that it is much easier than making a proper meals at home.

This trend may show some positive effect as it is more like a fast food. They don’t need to put too much effort on making a dish from the early process of cooking the food until the product is finished which they may be tired after prepares the food by themselves. Most of people used this convenient recipe when they were in a hurry or they were too hungry and they wants to eat variety types of instant foods.

Unfortunately, on the negatives impact comes from different ways. All of us were aware that eating convenient food can become addicting and it is not healthy for our body, especially to consume it daily. This type of “easy microwave food” will makes us lazier day by day until we forget on how to make the dish from scratch. The food may be delicious to us, as humans, we all love convenient food as it was easy and fast to cook the product. Also, they won’t have to worry about the taste of the foods whether it is taste bad or the food are lacks of some ingredient. This type of foods can causes harm to our bodies. They may not feel the pain now, but when they are older, the diseases will start spreading day by day, year by year.

Korean Ettiquette and Manners

Etiquette and manners are very related and it is how we expressed ourselves as a person and in Korea both of it are very important. Korean been taught to be polite since child especially in dining. Korean food traditional culture is so rich with etiquettes and manners, although some of the older traditions have relaxed in recent years it still in use today. Actually, it can be divided into three parts which is before meal, during meal and after meal.

Before meal, we need to give honour to someone who is older or got a higher rank than us which means we need wait to be seated and sit after them. This is a sign how we respect them and let them have a seat farthest from the door. Next, if we being a guest it is better to say “Jalmukesumneda” which means I will eat well tothe host because it is one of the way we expressed our thanks. Last not least, to begin the meal we should wait for the oldest person to lift their spoon or chopsticks first before we start enjoying the meal.

During the meal, there are a lot of manners and etiquettes which are important for them. We cannot blow our nose at the table because for them this acting considered as very rude. Next, If we need to use tissues, it is better if excuse ourselves to another room because in Korean tradition the purpose of doing that is to prevent the spread of germs. In Korean tradition, we should eat same pace as everyone else and do not be rush even hungry to keep the harmonies during the meal. When eating, we should not lifting the bowl especially soup or rice bowl and if eating rice it is better if we use spoon instead of chopsticks. Besides, as we know that Korean food famous with their communal side dishes so make sure that we take enough for ourselves and not be greedy. Try not to touch food if you do not intend to eat it and save it for others. Lastly, the etiquette about pouring drinks which is one of the symbolism of their culture. What we need to be remind is always pouring drinks for others first and if someone want to refill our drinks it is better we hold the cup with both hands as the sign we accept.

After meal, when we were done put the utensils on the table instead of stick your chopsticks straight up into your bowl because it that resembles traditional Korean ancestor ceremonies because it is very disrespectful and considered a sign of bad luck. Other than that, as usual wasting food is disallowed at all so do not take too much food if you cannot finish it. The last etiquette is we should say “masegaemugusuyo” when someone has hosted you in their home or treated you to a meal out, it is customary to acknowledge your thanks after the meal. This is the proof that Korean traditional food culture is rich with the dining etiquette that make them one of the unique and polite culture ever exist.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, this Korean country has introduced their traditional food to the global and everyone were respecting the uniqueness of the Korean foods. The harmony of each dishes influence the global to try and enjoy the foods. Eventually, nowadays the internet has been made the recipe of the Korean dish easier. They have changed the original elements, the ingredients to make certain dishes so that the global can easily buys the ingredient to make a certain dishes using the recipe given from the internet. Also, they prefer to enjoy convenient food as it is easier to prepare and it is delicious. Unfortunately, the global or even Korean people mostly had forgotten the real taste of the dish. The origin of each element in the dish tend to disappear day by day with the exchanging the ingredient that is needed to prepare the dish. It can be conclude that Korean people must stay with the original taste and use the original ingredient in order to expand more knowledge and to introduce their traditional foods to the world.