The Harmony in Hand: Why Do Koreans Use Both a Spoon and Chopsticks?
Hello. This is KoreaFeel.
When you sit down at a Korean table, two tools are always placed next to your bowl of Bap (cooked rice): the Sutgarak (spoon) and the Jeotgarak (chopsticks). Together, we call them Sujeo (수저).
Foreign readers often wonder, “Isn’t one set of chopsticks enough?” However, on the Korean Bapsang, the spoon plays an equally, if not more, crucial role than the chopsticks. Korean dining etiquette features a harmonious use of Sujeo rarely found in other chopstick cultures.
1. Sutgarak (Spoon): The Hidden Star of the Table
While many foreigners are used to eating rice and side dishes with chopsticks in Asian dining culture, Koreans primarily use the spoon for eating rice.
- Companions to Rice and Soup: Bap (rice), the center of the Bapsang, is most commonly eaten with a spoon. Furthermore, hot, liquid dishes like Guk (soup) or Jjigae (stew) can only be perfectly scooped up by the spoon. It is difficult to consume rice and soup together reliably using only chopsticks.
- Efficiency of ‘Bapsim’: For Koreans, Bap is the source of “Bapsim” (strength derived from a meal), and the spoon is the optimal tool that helps consume a sufficient and stable amount of rice most efficiently.
2. Jeotgarak (Chopsticks): A Delicate Conversation with Banchan
So when are the chopsticks used? They exist for a delicate conversation with Banchan (side dishes).
- Tool for Picking and Moving: Chopsticks are used to precisely pick up and move various types and sizes of Banchan onto the rice or directly into the mouth. From small dishes like black beans to larger ones like grilled fish, chopsticks’ dexterity helps diners fully enjoy the taste of the Banchan.
- Art of Combination: The act of picking up Banchan with chopsticks and scooping rice with a spoon to eat simultaneously completes the “Art of Combination” inherent in the Korean dining style.
3. Basic Etiquette and Consideration in Sujeo Use
Just as the roles of the spoon and chopsticks are distinct, there is also basic etiquette for their use.
- Avoid Simultaneous Use: While eating, it is generally considered proper not to hold both the spoon and chopsticks at the same time. Focusing on one tool at a time is considered polite.
- Table Stability: When not in use, the Sujeo should be neatly placed on a dedicated rest or laid across the rice or soup bowl to maintain cleanliness and reduce noise. Inserting the spoon into the rice bowl must be avoided. (This is done only when offering food to the deceased during a memorial ceremony.)
- Tool for Sharing: Chopsticks are also used to serve and share Banchan from the communal dish onto individual plates, not just for personal consumption.
The spoon and chopsticks are not just simple eating utensils. They are essential cultural symbols embodying Korean neatness, efficiency, and consideration for the community.
