Unwritten Korea

밥상 · Area of life

Food & Table

Eating together, drinking etiquette and why food sits at the center of Korean relationships.

Table manners
A Korean restaurant table with grilled fish, stew and small side dishes

반찬 더 주세요

Free side dishes, self-serve water and who sets the spoons: Korean restaurant culture explained

Why banchan refills are free, why you pour your own water, why the youngest lays out spoons and chopsticks, what the table bell is for, and how paying works at a Korean restaurant.

Drinking
A shot of soju being passed across a Korean restaurant table

술자리

Turn your head, use two hands: Korean drinking etiquette, ranked by how much it matters

Why you don't pour your own soju, why the youngest turns away to drink, what 'one shot' really means, and how to say no to a drink without offending anyone. The rules, and the reasons behind them.

Sharing food
A home-cooked Korean meal with soup, rice and side dishes on a wooden table

밥 먹었어?

Why Koreans say 'Have you eaten?' instead of hello

"밥 먹었어?" isn't really about lunch. How a greeting shaped by hungry decades became Korea's way of saying 'I care about you', and the other food phrases that hide feelings.

Big ideas in this area
정Jeong돌려 말하기Saying it without saying it효Hyo나이Age & hierarchy눈치Nunchi빨리빨리Ppalli-ppalli