Introducing Korean table manners!

In the extended family, the elders were the center of attention, and the table was set for one person. But nowadays, when the nuclear family is the center, everyone sits together and eats from their own plates. First, all the dishes are placed on the table, and the table is divided into 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12 plates according to the number of plates.

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The Korean diet, which consists of rice and vegetables as the main dish and side dishes, has been a formalized form of three meals a day since the late Three Kingdoms period. Sometimes, a one-piece meal such as noodles, bibimbap, and tonkatsu was eaten at noon, but it was just a different kind of food.

At the dinner table, rice is the main food and vegetables are the side dishes, so what to eat depends on the rice. The rice table is rational and coordinated in terms of the combination of the color of the dishes, the saltiness of the taste, the temperature of the food, and the matching of the colors

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The rice table has 3, 5, 7, and 9 plates, and the king of Joseon Dynasty used a 12-dish rice table. The simplest 3-dish table had soup, kimchi, wild vegetables, cold dishes, stews, and grilled food. A 3-plate table had rice, soup, kimchi, and sauce, as well as an even mix of vegetables, meat, and fish. A 5-dish table has rice, soup, kimchi, and sauce, and also 5 dishes and a miso soup.

A 9-dish table consists of rice, soup, kimchi, sauce, 9 dishes, a miso soup and a stew. The king's royal table was a 12-plate table. The king sat in front of the big round table and the small round table and the four-square table were placed next to it. On the large round table, there were white rice, box soup, 3 kinds of sauce, 3 kinds of kimchi, 7 kinds of vegetables, a bowl for picking bones, and 2 sets of silver spoons and chopsticks. One spoon was for drinking soup and the other was for drinking kimchi radish soup. One pair of chopsticks is for fish and the other for vegetables.

On the small round table, there is a red bean oden, a meat stew, a stew, two dishes, a tea set, an empty china plate, a silver bowl, and three pairs of spoons and chopsticks. When you do not want to eat the white meal, you can switch the red bean meal with the white meal. 3 sets of spoons and chopsticks are used by the Naiku to check the food and to hold the food. After the meal is finished, the cup of tea is placed on a plate and brought up to the table. On the four-sided table, there are stewed beef bone soup, hot pot, barbecue, and so on. Instead of boxed soup, the red bean gyoza is served with stewed beef bone soup.

Table manners

- When eating with elders, the elders move their chopsticks before the juniors.

- Don't hold the spoon and chopsticks in your hand at the same time, and put the spoon on the table when using the chopsticks. Don't put the spoon and chopsticks on the bowl, and don't carry the rice bowl and soup bowl.

- Drink soup or kimchi soup with a spoon before eating anything else. Use a spoon to eat rice, kimchi soup, miso soup, and soups, and use chopsticks for other dishes.

- Don't make a sound when eating, and don't let your spoon and chopsticks touch the bowl.

- Don't use your spoons and chopsticks to toss and turn your food, and don't pick out food and condiments you don't want to eat.

- Don't let food stick to your spoons and chopsticks when you are eating, and when you are finished, clean your bowl with potpourri.

- ***Enjoy your food on your own plate and eat it later. Vinaigrette and hot sauce are also good for dipping on the plate.

- During meals, wrap any bones or fish spines that you can't swallow in a paper bag and throw them away quietly, away from others, not on the table or on the floor.

- When coughing or sneezing at dinner, move your face away from the table and cover your mouth with a handkerchief or handkerchief to avoid being disrespectful.

- Don't eat too fast or too slow, and eat at the same pace as everyone else. When dining with elders, wait for them to put down their spoons and chopsticks.

- After eating, put your spoons and chopsticks in their original position and put your used napkin on the table.

- Use toothpicks with one hand to cover them and throw them away after use before anyone sees them.

When entertaining foreign guests with Korean food

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When entertaining foreign guests, it is important to pay special attention to the setting of the table, so as not to make the foreign guests feel inconvenienced or uncomfortable, and it is best to let the foreign guests accept the hospitality with pleasure. First, decide on the shape of the table. Traditionally, the dining table is a four-sided table or a round table. According to the number of diners, it can be set as a single table, a *** table, a table for 3, a table for 4, and when there are more than 4 people, it can be set as a round table or a big square table.

According to Korean tradition, food and spoons and chopsticks should be placed on the table to serve the guests, but for more than 4 people, it is more convenient for foreign guests to eat standing up rather than sitting down. In addition to tablecloths, table mats, spoon and chopstick trays, spoons and chopsticks, forks, knives, napkins, glasses, and wine glasses, the cleanliness of the scissors used to serve or the rags used to wipe the table will affect whether or not the guest will use our food again.

Reference: uwants/viewthread?tid=3369687,