Persimmon cake means a lot to Koreans! What does this food really represent in Korea?

Kakimochi is one of the representative traditional foods of Korea, and this food has witnessed the development and change of Korea, penetrating into the daily lives of Koreans. Kakimochi is transformed from persimmons, a plant that originated in East Asia. In the case of China, persimmons have been cultivated for more than 3,000 years.

What is known is that persimmons were popular on the Korean Peninsula during the Joseon Dynasty, when they were often used in clan rituals. Kakimochi was also eaten by members of the royal court in Korea. The kakimochi has also been a witness to many historical events. For example, the ninth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, King Seongjong, had a concubine named Yoon. When she first entered the palace, she was so favored that she became more and more arrogant. In order to prevent Sungjong from favoring someone else, she carried arsenic with her at all times. This behavior was not pleasing to Emperor Chengzong, so he finally ordered her to be sentenced to death for carrying arsenic. So Emperor Chengzong finally killed her for carrying a persimmon cake with arsenic in it. The first time he did this, he was able to kill her for carrying a persimmon cake with arsenic in it.

The persimmon cake, which has existed in Korea since ancient times, has survived through the ages, and it has become more and more a part of the daily life of Koreans. There is a traditional Korean fairy tale that centers around the persimmon cake, "The Tiger and the Persimmon Cake. The story is simply about a child who cries and cries, so his mother tells him that a tiger is coming. But the child keeps crying, so the mother says, "Look at the persimmons. Look at the persimmons. The child stops crying when he sees a sweet persimmon cake to eat. While this conversation was going on, a tiger really did come to the door, and when the tiger heard the child stop crying because of the persimmons, it mistook the persimmons for an animal more powerful than it was, so it fled.

In addition to fairy tales, there are a number of sentences related to persimmons in Korean proverbs, including ? Pick the sweet persimmon cake first and eat it? Eat the persimmon porridge and plant it in the sugar jar? Koreans used to pick persimmons when they were not ripe and make their own persimmons. However, as time progresses, fewer and fewer people make their own persimmons. This is a reflection of the changing times. But in the process of this change of time, the persimmon cake derived from the innovative food is also increasing, such as persimmon cake jam, persimmon cake rolls and so on.