[Korean Culture] Why Do Koreans Talk About Food So Much? 

Koreans really love food.

Compared to many other countries, Koreans tend to eat quite a lot. These days, modern Koreans have started eating less than before, but even so, the portions can still feel quite generous.

In the past, Koreans ate much larger meals — sometimes more than two or three times the amount people eat today.

Maybe that is one of the reasons why Korean food culture has developed so much. Korea is now one of the countries with an incredibly wide variety of dishes.

Koreans take food very seriously.

In fact, many Korean expressions are related to “밥,” which means “rice” or “meal.”

• When Koreans meet someone around lunchtime, they may ask “식사하셨어요?” (Did you eat?) almost like a greeting.

• When saying goodbye, they might say “나중에 밥 한번 먹자” (Let’s eat together sometime later).

• When they want to thank someone, they may say “나중에 밥 사줄게” (I’ll buy you a meal sometime).

• When responding to someone’s thanks, they might say “나중에 밥이나 한번 사” (Just buy me a meal sometime).

• When they are busy, they say “밥 먹을 시간도 없어” (I don’t even have time to eat).

• When someone else is busy, they say “밥은 꼭 챙겨먹어” (Make sure you eat).

• When someone needs to do their job properly, Koreans may say “밥 값 해야지” (You should do enough to be worth your meal).

• When they are worried about someone, they might say “저래서 밥 벌어먹고 살겠어?” (Can they even earn enough to eat like that?).

• When someone ruins something that was almost finished, Koreans say “다 된 밥에 재 뿌리네” (They are sprinkling ash on fully cooked rice).

• When someone did not really help, but tries to join in at the very end and take credit, Koreans may say “다 된 밥상에 숟가락 얹네” (They are putting a spoon on an already finished meal table).

There are many more expressions like this.

For example, “다 먹고 살자고 하는 일인데…” (We are doing all this just to eat and live…) or “밥 맛 떨어져” (It makes my appetite disappear). These are all expressions that Koreans actually use very often in real life.

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If you meet a Korean someday, try saying this:

“나 회사에서 어제 밥도 못 먹고 일했어.” (I worked yesterday and could not even eat at the office.)

You may see a Korean get surprisingly angry on your behalf, saying that your company is terrible — simply because you did not get to eat.