When my
family went to Korea one year ago, we did so with some basic knowledge of the
Korean culture and customs. However, we quickly learnt that culture is not as
simple as what you read from tourism websites and from watching Korean dramas.
One thing we did not thoroughly research on is acceptable table manners in
Korea. Korean dining etiquette is very unique, in that there are many rules one
should follow pertaining to the use of utensils.
Just to
name a few:
1.
Do
not cross your chopsticks when putting them on the chopstick rest.
2.
Chopsticks
should be on the chopstick rest or table when not in use.
3.
The
utensils should not rest on any bowl or dish during the meal.
4.
Put
down your chopsticks after every few bites and when you drink or stop to speak.
5.
Do
not hold 2 sets of utensils at the same time.
Many of
these were new to us, and we unknowingly committed many dining ‘crimes’ the
first three days of our trip. On the fourth day, as we were eating at one of
the roadside tents, the lady boss came up to us and kindly educated us on
Korean dining etiquette, albeit through frantic gesturing since we could not
understand each other’s language. She had
noticed me holding the chopsticks in my right hand and at the same time scooping
soup with the spoon in my left hand, and also my sister resting her chopsticks
parallel across the rice bowl as she drank her soup.
Now, when I
am travelling to another country, I make sure to find out about the appropriate
dining etiquette in their country and not offend anyone at the dinner table!
This
experience also led me to think: Is it impossible to learn about another
culture except through assimilating into it and experiencing it personally?
