As soon as you live in Korea, have you ever been surprised by the wide metal Korean chopsticks? Especially friends from Japan or China may not be able to use these chopsticks at first. Korea is the only country among the three Northeast Asian countries that uses metal chopsticks, and Korea is also the only country that uses flat chopsticks.
Source: 2 Sets Korean Stainless Steel Chopsticks & Spoon Tableware Dinnerware|Flatware Set| - AliExpress
Chopsticks are a type of eating utensil widely used in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, and have been made and used according to the food culture where rice is the staple food.
First of all, the oldest record related to chopsticks is when the Han and Chu dynasties fought a war after the fall of the Qin Dynasty in China. He took it apart and explained the problem with the ploy. It is said that Feizi Han even passed on the story that King Zhou, the king of the Shang Dynasty, made chopsticks from ivory even further back than this.
Source: Food Culture: The History of “Chief of the World” (qq.com)
It seems that Korea has been using chopsticks and spoons together since at least the Three Kingdoms period. Spoons are said to have been excavated from the Bronze Age of the Gojoseon Dynasty, while chopsticks from the Three Kingdoms period have not yet been excavated.
It is said that until the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, there were many cases in which the common people only used spoons, but if you look at the genre paintings painted by Kim Hong-do, there are many evidences that chopsticks were used, so it can be seen as a characteristic of each region and family.
In Southeast Asia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar are predominantly hand-eating cultures, but chopsticks are often used to eat noodles.
In the past, Mongolia was a culture where men mainly used chopsticks to the extent that men carried chopsticks along with flints and knives on their belts when going out. Because of this, modern Mongolians are considered to be clumsy when it comes to using chopsticks.
(Source: Namu Wiki Reference and Arrangement)
Currently, the three Northeast Asian countries (Korea, Japan, and China), which mainly use chopsticks, use chopsticks in various styles, and there are more people or scholars than expected who investigate and study them according to each country's history and culture.
Chopsticks play a very important role in Korean food culture.
First of all, you need chopsticks because many Korean foods are cut into small pieces or difficult to eat with your hands. Also, chopsticks allow you to eat small portions of food, giving you more pleasure and satisfaction than eating large bites.
Also, chopsticks play a very important role in Korean culture. Using chopsticks has the same meaning as sharing rice balls while having a conversation, and is often used at various events such as weddings, the first full moon of the year, and Chuseok. Also, handling chopsticks is technical and is perceived as being polite to one's parents.
Therefore, chopsticks play a very important role in Korean food culture and are one of the most precious utensils for Koreans.
Let's enjoy traditional Korean food culture even more while knowing about Korean chopsticks!
