🎧Decoding the Korean Table: A Review of "Why Do Koreans Eat This Way?"

This episode is a companion to this week’s Substack essay, “The Korean Table Is Not Finished Until Someone Suggests Coffee.”Today, we move from Korean restaurant buttons and “저기요!” to paper napkin hygiene, shared banchan, sungnyung, nurungji, mix coffee, iced Americano, and the family memories hidden inside everyday eating habits.The newsletter is the table.This episode is the coffee afterward.💬 I’d really love to hear what this brought up for you. Come find me here and share your thoughts, stories, or questions.Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time is written and hosted by Jiwon Yoon. New episodes every week, alongside the newsletter.Korean Words & Phrases in This Episode한국인은 왜 이렇게 먹을까? (Hangugineun wae ireoke meogeulkka?) — Why Do Koreans Eat This Way? The Korean title of Joo Young-ha’s book.저기요 (jeo-gi-yo) — “Excuse me” or “Over here.” A common way to call a server in Korea.이모 (imo) — “Auntie.” In restaurants, this can be a warm, familiar way to call an older female server. It is practical, not literal.기분 위생학 (gibun wisaenghak) — Literally something like “feeling hygiene.” In this episode, I translate it as emotional hygiene, or the feeling of cleanliness.반찬 (banchan) — Korean side dishes served with rice.찌개 (jjigae) — Korean stew.나물 (namul) — Seasoned vegetables or greens.쌈장 (ssamjang) — A thick, savory dipping sauce often eaten with lettuce wraps and grilled meat.비빔밥 (bibimbap) — A Korean mixed rice dish, usually served with vegetables, sauce, and sometimes meat or egg.김밥 (gimbap) — A Korean seaweed rice roll, often filled with vegetables, egg, pickled radish, and sometimes beef, tuna, kimchi, or other fillings.김 (gim) — Dried seaweed, often used to wrap rice or make gimbap.앞접시 (apjeopshi) — A small personal plate used to take food from shared dishes.그러다가 속 버린다 (geureodaga sok beorinda) — “You’ll ruin your stomach that way.” A phrase some Korean adults might say if a child drinks too much water while eating.숭늉 (sungnyung) — Warm roasted-rice water, traditionally made by pouring hot water over scorched rice at the bottom of a pot.누룽지 (nurungji) — Scorched or toasted rice from the bottom of the pot.냄비밥 (naembibap) — Rice cooked in a pot, rather than in an electric rice cooker.프림 (peurim) — Powdered coffee creamer. From the English word “cream.”얼죽아 (eoljukah) — Short for 얼어 죽어도 아이스 아메리카노.얼어 죽어도 아이스 아메리카노 (eoreo jugeodo iced Americano) — “Even if I freeze to death, iced Americano.” A playful Korean phrase for people who drink iced Americano even in winter.깍두기 (kkakdugi) — Cubed radish kimchi.혼밥 (honbap) — Eating alone. Short for 혼자 밥 먹기, eating a meal by oneself. Get full access to Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time at yoonjiwon.substack.com/subscribe