When was South Korea introduced to making foods spicier? Well, it goes all the way back to the seventeenth century when Portuguese traders brought them some chili pepper. Korea’s favorite chili pepper Cheong yang is known as the hottest. This type of spicy food and others like wasabi have a natural antimicrobial property that can help preserve perishable foods. Koreans always eat spicy foods because to them, if you have pain or are stressed. The spice from the food relieves their pain and makes the body fully refreshed.

South Korea is known for some interesting characteristics in their culture: For instance, when babies are first born, they are considered one year old. So, if they are born on December 31^st, this will make them two years old. Second, in a general conversation, a person might ask someone what their blood type is. In Korea, they believe that knowing someone’s blood type will tell the kind of person you are. Third, Korea is made up of 3,400 separate islands and out of all those islands, only 473 people live on them. Some of the islands are small but have something unique to offer in their own way. Fourth, Korean music is a massive thing across the globe. Boy band groups seem to be the most popular in the world. This type of Korean pop music or K-pop helped introduce their style of entertainment to other countries. For example, one of my favorite Korean films is called “Squid Game.” Fifth, if you like to use red ink, you will look frown upon. Because in Korea using red ink to write or sign any documents, is a signal of death. 

They do things a lot different than what is done in the United States: For example, Korean food often includes side dishes, while American food does not. This is because Korea has a long history of using spices in their cuisine, dating back to when they first started trading with other countries. On the other hand, the United States has only been using spices in cuisine for a few hundred years.

I chose this cultural topic because spicy food is one of my favorites. This is what led me to wanting to explore South Korea. By me doing this, it also helped me gain knowledge on how their country operates and functions. For instance, a citizen there automatically is enrolled in health care, something here in the United States does not offer. Which shows that even though we are supposed to be the land of opportunity, Korea is far more advanced than us and takes care of their own people.

Multimedia Sources

Surya R. Lee A. GY. Exploring the philosophical values of kimchi and kimjang culture. J. Ethn.

Food 9, 20 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-022-00136-5

10 Korean Customs. Matadornetwork.com

An Overview of Korean Culture and Traditions. Optilingo.com

 https://KoreanKulture.com

https://www.sejong.com.sg