r/KoreanFood May 23 '26

Traditional Historical Records of Korean Portion Sizes (1123–1903)

252 Upvotes

1. 1123 (Goryeo Dynasty) — Song Dynasty Envoy Xu Jing, Illustrated Account of Goryeo

"They are fond of eating heavily and take pleasure in offering food to one another."

"They always pack up whatever is left over after eating their fill, and do not consider it shameful in the slightest."

 

2. Late 15th Century (Joseon Dynasty) — Appeal to the King by scholar Yi Geuk-don

"In years of good harvest, they consume without restraint, eating in a single sitting what a Chinese person would consume in an entire day. That is the problem."

 

3. 1592 (Imjin War) — Military Rations Record & Ming General Li Rusong

For a single meal, a Joseon soldier's ration was 7 hop of rice (roughly 1.26 liters / 42 fl oz), whereas Japanese soldiers received a mere 2 hop.

Ming General Li Rusong: "If the commoners eat this much, how is the state supposed to even operate?"

 

4. 17th–18th Century — Joseon Envoys (Tongsinsa) reacting to Japanese portions

1636, Kim Se-ryeom: "The Japanese eat barely a couple handfuls of rice per meal."

1643, Yi Gyeong-jik: "The rice amounted to no more than a couple of hop, and there were only a couple of side dishes."

1719, Nam Ok: "Watching the palanquin bearers eat... it's just a few cups of sake and a few hop of rice. From this, one realizes how unusually hearty our country's eating habits are."

1719, Hong Chi-jung: "The food was served in tiny bowls, and the portions were incredibly small."

 

5. 18th Century — Joseon Scholar Yi Ik, Seongho Saseol

"Our people are unmatched in their dedication to eating huge quantities. People of the Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa) mocked our people, saying, 'How can you avoid poverty when you heap up and consume such enormous amounts of rice?'"

 

6. Late 18th Century — Joseon Scholar Hong Dae-yong

"The rice bowls of the Chinese were exactly the size of our teacups."

 

7. 1844 — Qing Dynasty Envoy Bai Jun, Diary of a Mission to Joseon

"Meats, vegetables, liquor, and fruits are laid out in abundance. They carry the round tables high upon their heads to formally treat their grand guests. How funny! Even if our chefs lack culinary skill — they can consume huge amounts, easily eating the portions of two men."

 

8. Mid-19th Century — French Catholic Missionary Bishop Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy

(Daveluy lived in Korea for over 20 years and wrote extensively on local customs)

"When it comes to eating, there is no distinction between high officials and commoners. Koreans regard the ability to eat large quantities as a point of pride and value quantity over quality."

"The standard meal for a laborer is a full liter of cooked rice, which fills a massive bowl to the brim. Even after finishing one, they are often ready for more, with many easily eating two or three portions."

"One of our congregants, a man in his thirties, once ate seven portions on a wager — and this wasn't even counting the many bowls of makgeolli he drank with it."

"An old man between 64 and 65 years of age emptied five full bowls while complaining of a 'loss of appetite.' Koreans call anyone who can handle ten bowls a jangsa (a strong, burly man)."

"When a cow is slaughtered and beef is offered in unlimited quantities, no one fears a plate overflowing with meat."

"When serving fruit, like large peaches, even the most restrained person eats about ten, and some frequently consume 30, 40, or even 50. As for Korean melons, they normally eat about ten, but sometimes consume 20 or 30 in a single sitting."

"Korean mothers were often described as encouraging children to eat until their stomachs were completely full."

"Koreans love beef tripe and fish, but these rarely ever made it to the dinner table — because they were consumed the second they appeared."

 

9. 1874 — French Missionary Charles Dallet, Histoire de l'Église de Corée

"Heavy eating was commonly noted among Koreans regardless of wealth or social class. Observers often remarked on their unusually large appetites."

 

10. 1884 — US Naval Officer/Diplomat George Clayton Foulk

"At 10 A.M., the breakfast table was brought in. I couldn't help but be astounded by the sheer volume of food piled high on the table... In the evening, a banquet was held for me. The small, round dishes filling the table were stacked with enough food to feed ten men."

 

11. Late 1880s — Russian Officer Dadeshkeliani, Korea as I Saw It

"Fifteen minutes later, I received not one, but two tables laden with fourteen different kinds of dishes: fish, meat soup, eggs, fish in red pepper, meat dumplings made of sorghum and peas, dried beef, undercooked chestnuts, rice, honey, kelp, and octopus beautifully cut into flower shapes... Soon, seven Korean officials entered the room, bowed, and apologized that the hospitality was so meager."

 

12. Early 1890s — British Missionary Griffith John

"Koreans generally eat twice as much as the Japanese."

 

13. 1894 — Austrian Traveler Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, Korea: A Summer Journey

"In terms of Koreans being heavy eaters, there was simply no standard of comparison. When I went to Japan, the Japanese told me their neighbors ate about three times more than they did, and when I later arrived at the treaty port of Jemulpo, I saw it was entirely true."

"While the Chinese and Japanese eat at fixed hours, Koreans eat regardless of the time, and an unbelievable amount of rice vanishes in an instant along with a handful of red peppers."

"Koreans tend to eat more meat than people from neighboring countries, accompanied by massive amounts of red pepper powder, vinegar, and seasoning."

 

14. 1894–1897 — British Explorer Isabella Bird Bishop

"Koreans usually consume three to four portions in a single sitting, and it is commonplace for 20 to 25 peaches and melons to disappear on the spot."

 

15. Late 19th Century — American Missionary Lillias Horton Underwood

"As a general rule, if Koreans go to a feast, you can assume they will eat an absolutely unbelievable amount of food right then and there. (Moreover, it is not considered strange at all to stuff their sleeves or hands as full of food as they can carry when leaving.) Also, they often starve themselves for days in advance just to eat heartily on feast days. To my mind, they generally seem to value quantity far more than quality."

 Obviously a lot of these were written by foreigners in culture shock, and plenty were probably feast-day observations rather than everyday meals. Still, it's hard to ignore 800 years of Chinese, Japanese, and Western visitors all saying basically the same thing. Historians point to grueling agricultural labor, a rice-heavy diet, and hospitality culture as the usual explanations — and notably, it cut across class lines. Yangban and commoners ate the same way. As a Korean, I'll add one thing: even today, nine out of ten older Koreans coming back from a trip to Japan will complain that the portions were way too small. Turns out they're saying the exact same thing as the Joseon envoys did 800 years ago.


r/KoreanFood Dec 19 '25

questions Join us in koreanfood chat!

13 Upvotes

Request an invite and we will add you!


r/KoreanFood 17h ago

Kimchee! Text from my 21 year old daughter...

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1.8k Upvotes

r/KoreanFood 6h ago

Noodle Foods/Guksu A kalguksu spot in Korea that only serves one dish, and nails it

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127 Upvotes

Went to 총각손칼국수 in Yongin, a handmade kalguksu place. The menu is basically just kalguksu, and honestly that kind of focus tells you everything, they've been doing this one thing for a long time.

The broth is clean and comforting with hand cut noodles, topped with gim, scallions, and a bit of carrot. Simple but exactly right on a rainy night.

Two things stood out. The walls are completely covered in handwritten notes and doodles from years of customers, which really shows how many people have passed through. And the kimchi is split into two bins, fully fermented and less fermented, so you can grab whatever suits your taste. I went with the less fermented one.

If you like a place that does one thing and does it well, this is worth a stop.


r/KoreanFood 11h ago

A restaurant in Korea Supper

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53 Upvotes

r/KoreanFood 1h ago

questions Korean snail (?) snack eaten by kids and hikers?

Upvotes

I'm trying to remember a snack I saw when I lived in Korea about twenty years ago. It was often sold near bondaegi.

I saw it most often at the top of mountains after hikes (made by little businesses in the mountains) or at taekwondo tournaments in Seoul. They're little white/grey snails (?) or conch shells or something like that. The snails were cooked (?) in a huge bowl and scooped out by the spoonful. Then the people eating it would suck the meat out and either toss the shells to the side or drop them into an empty bottle of Pocari Sweat.

I never tasted it, so I don't know what it tasted like.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about, what this is called, and how it's made?


r/KoreanFood 49m ago

Homemade First time making/eating Hotteok

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Upvotes

What would you guys give a rating on how much you like or dislike Hotteok?


r/KoreanFood 9h ago

Street Eats 분식 Cheese tteokbokki

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26 Upvotes

r/KoreanFood 6h ago

Restaurants Jjamppong/bingsoo in Cambodia

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14 Upvotes

Melo Korean fusion in Phnom Penh, pretty good, great decor/vibe


r/KoreanFood 6h ago

Homemade Gamjajeon

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10 Upvotes

Just potato and salt that's it. Such a nice food to have on a raining day.


r/KoreanFood 1d ago

Soups and Jjigaes 🍲 Steamed Clams

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188 Upvotes

조개찜입니다. This is Jogae jjim. Don't forget the Soju, it makes the whole experience 10x better.


r/KoreanFood 19h ago

Homemade Spicy beef soybean stew

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49 Upvotes

Dinner today


r/KoreanFood 1d ago

Homemade I love the flavor and simplicity of tteokbokki

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76 Upvotes

r/KoreanFood 14h ago

Meat foods 🥩🍖 I think I found my new favorite Korean fried chicken flavor

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13 Upvotes

First time trying tomato fried chicken and I loved it. The tomato seasoning with cheese powder tasted just like tomato chips, sweet, tangy, and addictive. It officially took the top spot over snow cheese fried chicken for me🤤
The squid mulhoe was also super refreshing, and perfect for balancing out all the fried food.


r/KoreanFood 7h ago

Restaurants Always on the roll! #RollingRice

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3 Upvotes

r/KoreanFood 7h ago

Homemade I made my first Korean Kimchi-jjigae

3 Upvotes

I used some alternatives because I didn't have proper ingredients at hand.

- garlic powder instead of minced garlic
- olive oil instead of sesame oil
- a shit ton of onions instead of sugar

The taste was surprisingly good. I'm very proud.


r/KoreanFood 9h ago

Soups and Jjigaes 🍲 wanted korean food in korea but my korean friend took me to chinese hotpot instead any reccs on good korean chinese food in seoul

4 Upvotes

so I was in busan and honestly I wanted korean food the whole trip. but my korean friend said no we are doing chinese hotpot, and took me to this place near haeundae called yongga. I was kind of skeptical because chinese food in korea, in busan? but it was really good and also super clean which I did not expect. you get your own personal pot so you pick your own broth and cook only what you want (I did mala). the ingredients come around on a belt and there is even a little robot that brings the meat. it kind of changed my mind, korean style chinese food is better than I thought.

anyway I am going to seoul this saturday and now I want to try more. what are the must try korean chinese places there? anything is fine, jjajangmyeon, tangsuyuk, more hotpot, small local places, whatever you would recommend to a friend


r/KoreanFood 1d ago

Blogger As a Red Seal Chef with 35+ years of experience, here is why recipes alone can’t capture "Sonmat" (손맛) — and how it works in a professional kitchen.

146 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m Chef Jay Choi. After moving far from Korea and spending decades in professional kitchens (earning my Red Seal along the way), I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about a word that every Korean knows, but is incredibly difficult to explain to Western ears: Sonmat (손맛), which literally translates to "hand taste."

To many, it sounds like a poetic metaphor for a mother's home cooking or nostalgia. But working as an owner-chef in large-scale catering, I realized Sonmat isn’t just abstract intuition. It is a highly developed sensory judgment that bridges the gap where science and exact measurements reach their limits.

Here is how I view Sonmat from a professional kitchen perspective:

• Measurements provide the baseline, but ingredients change: When brining dozens of Napa cabbages for catering, I always start with a salinity meter. However, a recipe cannot account for the cabbage’s exact moisture, firmness, or thickness on that specific day.

Sonmat is the judgment to look at that day's batch and say, "This needs 3 more minutes of draining," or "The salt is penetrating slower today."The art of knowing when to stop: A cook with good Sonmat isn't someone who throws in extra seasonings to make the flavor stronger.

It’s about reading the unique profile of the seasonal ingredients and finding the exact harmony where the natural flavor and the seasoning center each other perfectly.

AI and refractometers have limits: In my kitchen, we use digital Brix refractometers and salinity meters to reduce batch variation. But on one occasion, the numbers hit the exact target, yet the broth lacked umami depth. Simmering it for just 3 more minutes brought it into balance.

The tool gives you the range, but the human palate confirms the final harmony.True Sonmat isn't an inborn mystical trait; it is years of deliberate observation, comparison, and sensory memory stored from repeated cooking.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. When you cook Korean food, how do you handle those subtle adjustments that a recipe recipe doesn't tell you?

───

If you’d like to read my full breakdown on how we balance numerical standards with sensory judgment in a catering kitchen, feel free to check out my full lab post here: https://www.chefjayslab.com/2026/07/what-is-sonmat-korean-hand-taste.html


r/KoreanFood 8h ago

questions Help needed! Locate the flavoured BBQ salt

3 Upvotes

Currently in Seoul and have absolutely fell in love with the delicious flavoured salt served with K-BBQ. We had a particularly excellent black raspberry one and we are desperate to find something similar to take home with us.

Does anyone know anywhere that sells this?! We have googled/ Chat GPTd to no avail. Is it easy to make yourself?!

Please help a gal out!


r/KoreanFood 9h ago

questions What food is synonymous with your experience with Korea?

3 Upvotes

Whether you've lived in Korea, traveled for work or fun, or just want to go someday, what food is synonymous with your experience with Korea?

For me, there's a lot. I've been living in Daegu for a long time. But nothing quite says "I live in Korea" quite like sitting down to a dish of kimchi jjim (김치찜) -- steamed pork and mugeonji (묵은지). There's usually also a dish of boiling-hot kimchi jjigae (김치 찌개), in case you didn't get your fermented cabbage fix. It's...a lot.

Otherwise, it's been a long, long time since I had something and thought, hey, it's Korean food. It's just food now. Naengmyeon (냉면), soju (소주), even oi sobagi (오이소박이), everything. I'm glad I've had the chance to make Korean food a part of my daily life. ^^


r/KoreanFood 22h ago

Homemade No idea what that was… but that was delicious

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26 Upvotes

It is a chicken kimchi stew… with spinaches… but I don’t know what it called. Can you help!


r/KoreanFood 17h ago

Traditional When you’re in Korean summer,

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8 Upvotes

don’t miss having energy-boosting food (baeksuk, 백숙).


r/KoreanFood 7h ago

Meat foods 🥩🍖 Tried- Fit Fuel Bowl and it's yummmmmy 🍄🍗

1 Upvotes

Trying healthy... and loving the vibes. 🥗✨


r/KoreanFood 20h ago

Snack Foods Gelato ice cream made with soft tofu

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10 Upvotes

r/KoreanFood 8h ago

questions Where to get Korean Vegetables in Singapore?

1 Upvotes

I have been watching some KR variety show and thinking of getting some of their seasonal vegetables in Singapore, anyone know where I can get them?