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afsjesse
Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Location: Kickin' it in 'Kato town.
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 Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 3:55 pm Post subject: No, I don't want any Ddeok 떡 for the final time.. |
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I love Korean food, and I do like Ddeok. I walk into school today and was kindly told that I should have some Ddeok. I said I had a big breakfast and I am trying to lose weight., so I don't want any at this time. Said it in a very nice way with a very logical explanation.
"But don't you like Korea?" says a teacher. My response, "I love Korea, but I'm full." Her response "I don't think so because you don't eat Ddeok". I go back to my desk and just ignore this nut.
Within 10 minutes I'm bombarded by the school nurse holding a green ddeok to my mouth and I pull away and say no thanks. Then she starts ranting in Korean to the other teachers and they all ask if I'm having a bad day?? WTF????
I said I don't want any ddeok and that I am full. So to f'in make them happy I have one. But oh nooo that wasn't enough. "mani mani juseyo." they say. "mashissoyo???"
I took one to be nice and they keep asking me why I don't want any flippin ddeok. WTF......  |
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Forward Observer
Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Location: FOB Gloria
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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| PSYCHO |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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Koreans have a kind of obsession with certain foods. Ddeok is one of them.
There are a lot of factors. Food nationalism/pride. Hunger in the past. Media BS about how many foreigners love Korean food, e.g Kimchi is becoming a popular food all over the world..............
........Best thing is to compliment the food while refusing it. Say that you think ddeok is delicious and oh so healthy, but you just ate......... |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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They've drank the Kool Aid when it comes to the medicinal properties of Korean food.
I teach at an intl school (most kids are returnees from Europe or N. America) and told them that kimchi is healthy (maybe) but not medicinal. 75% of them freaked out and said I was lying but the ones that agreed were without fail the brightest in the class. |
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Robot_Teacher
Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Location: Robotting Around the World
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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I hate it at school dinners how the men push soju and Hite on me, because I don't drink that and they do. They think every man needs to drink it, becuase it makes a real man out of you and is the norm. I beg to differ as I don't need that garbage.
I take the dyuk rice cakes and Korean lunch. They say, "You must really like Korean food," in a way that doubts their own expectation that I would not like it. I'm like yes, "Korean food is very good."
OP is being tormented. |
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waynehead
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Location: Jongno
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Koreans and their food...ye gods what a bizarre psychological relationship the two have. Funny story. |
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Pwillig
Joined: 26 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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Damn, the only time I've turned down any food was when I had a stomach bug. I mean, even if I'm full I'll eat whatever to please everyone.
Hell, whatever they give before lunch isn't very filling because I'm always starving at lunch time and on the bus ride home. I also attack the gym like it was an unloving father.
I was prepared for the drinking and food culture from my time in Japan, and luckily I enjoy getting a bit sloshed as it helps me make some hilariously bad decisions 
I can imagine the frustrations a man would have here if he didn't drink :-/ |
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roadwork
Joined: 24 Nov 2008
Location: Goin' up the country
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 6:26 pm Post subject: Re: No, I don't want any Ddeok 떡 for the final ti |
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| afsjesse wrote: |
I love Korean food, and I do like Ddeok. I walk into school today and was kindly told that I should have some Ddeok. I said I had a big breakfast and I am trying to lose weight., so I don't want any at this time. Said it in a very nice way with a very logical explanation.
"But don't you like Korea?" says a teacher. My response, "I love Korea, but I'm full." Her response "I don't think so because you don't eat Ddeok". I go back to my desk and just ignore this nut.
Within 10 minutes I'm bombarded by the school nurse holding a green ddeok to my mouth and I pull away and say no thanks. Then she starts ranting in Korean to the other teachers and they all ask if I'm having a bad day?? WTF????
I said I don't want any ddeok and that I am full. So to f'in make them happy I have one. But oh nooo that wasn't enough. "mani mani juseyo." they say. "mashissoyo???"
I took one to be nice and they keep asking me why I don't want any flippin ddeok. WTF...... |
Tell them that in western countries, we think ddeok is junk food. |
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Smee
Joined: 24 Dec 2004
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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I like ddeok, and will even *gasp* pick some up for myself and the gf.
However, when it comes out in school I usually absent myself. Why? Because it's the loudest goddamn food in all of Korea. First, everyone moves around the office going 떡떡떡떡떡떡, then there's the smacking that you can nearly hear down the hall, and then there's the commentary that goes "delicious delicious delicious 떡떡떡 delicious delicious" for about six minutes. And if there's watermelon you not only get SMACK SMACK SMACK you get ssssssssssssssssssslllllllllllllluuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrq238940ru234890ru-23r9jioajf2389! in between bites. It's why Xenu invented headphones. |
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nicam
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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When I get bombarded with very mediocre glutinous rice cakes I pretend to be thrilled to death. Then, I remove the wrapper, crunch it around a little, make lip smacking sounds, a couple of audible "mmmmm"s and pretend to eat away. I break off pieces, hold them in the air for all to see, then slyly drop them into my purse on the floor beneath my desk. Then I clean all the crap out of my purse when I get home.
It's really creepy in a desperate teenage anorexic sort of way, but whatever. |
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4 months left
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| jkelly80 wrote: |
They've drank the Kool Aid when it comes to the medicinal properties of Korean food.
I teach at an intl school (most kids are returnees from Europe or N. America) and told them that kimchi is healthy (maybe) but not medicinal. 75% of them freaked out and said I was lying but the ones that agreed were without fail the brightest in the class. |
Does Kimchi Cause Cancer?
By David L. Katz, MD
Q. I grew up in an Asian household and love to eat fermented vegetables like kimchi. But I'm confused about whether these foods are good for me or may pose a risk for stomach cancer because of the fermentation. Are there any studies on this? �Lydia Kang, Omaha
A. Stomach cancer rates are high in parts of Asia, especially Korea, and studies do indeed suggest that at least part of the reason may be all the kimchi, miso, and pickled fish people eat in that part of the world. Those foods contain N-nitroso compounds, which are likely carcinogens.
But that doesn't mean you need to banish them from your table. There are many risk factors for gastric cancer: Genetics, infection with the ulcer-related bacteria Helicobacter pylori, and lifestyle all play a part. If a close relative has had stomach cancer, for example, your risk is apt to be higher than average, which means you should be vigilant about getting checked. And you can be screened and treated for H. pylori infection.
If you eat a diet generally rich in fruits and vegetables of the unpickled variety, you'll lower your risk of stomach cancer. Regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight will also help.
Otherwise, I recommend recalling the adage from the father of toxicology, Paracelsus: The dose makes the poison. All of us eat carcinogens on a fairly regular basis; our risk is defined by the ratio of beneficial to harmful exposures. Kimchi, miso, and other fermented foods are probably safe as a treat�say, once a week�in the context of a healthy lifestyle.
http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200807_omag_katz_kimchi
Don't Eat the Kimchi
This is an amusing article in the LA Times about some problems with Kimchi, the staple food of Korea, and some political pressures on scientists to, er, play ostrich.
At the Kimchi Research Institute in Busan, hairless mice fed kimchi were reported to develop fewer wrinkles. With a government grant of $500,000, the institute is developing a special anti-aging kimchi that will be marketed this year. Other new products are anti-cancer and anti-obesity kimchi.
Allright!!! Eat kimchi and stave off those wrinkles, cancer and fatness! I'm all over that.
"We are proud that we can use scientific methods to confirm the health benefits of our traditional food," said Park Kun-young, who heads the institute. Kimchi specialists abound here. The library of a kimchi museum in Seoul holds more than 2,000 books about kimchi and thousands more dissertations. ("A Kinetic Model for Lactic Acid Production in Kimchi" was among the recent titles.) New theses are being added at the rate of 300 per year. "I think kimchi practically defines Korean-ness," said Park Chae-lin, curator of the museum.
That's cool. We love ethnic pride. If y'all love kimchi, that's great.
Understandably, perhaps, dissenters on the topic of its healing power are circumspect. "I'm sorry. I can't talk about the health risks of kimchi in the media. Kimchi is our national food," said a researcher at Seoul National University, who begged not to be quoted by name.
Oooh. A little controversy. Some folks don't wanna pray to the Kimchi mantle? Why is that?
Among the papers not to be found in the vast library of the kimchi museum is one published in June 2005 in the Beijing-based World Journal of Gastroenterology titled "Kimchi and Soybean Pastes Are Risk Factors of Gastric Cancer."
Uh-oh. Linking kimchi to cancer? That's like linking chili-cheese burgers to cancer in the U.S. We'd revolt and rebel!!!!
The researchers, all South Korean, report that kimchi and other spicy and fermented foods could be linked to the most common cancer among Koreans. Rates of gastric cancer among Koreans and Japanese are 10 times higher than in the United States.
"We found that if you were a very, very heavy eater of kimchi, you had a 50% higher risk of getting stomach cancer," said Kim Heon of the department of preventive medicine at Chungbuk National University and one of the authors. "It is not that kimchi is not a healthy food � it is a healthy food, but in excessive quantities there are risk factors."
Uh-oh --eatin' too much kimchi, you gonna get stomach cancer! Not so hot -- ease up on the kimchi!
Kim said he tried to publicize the study but a friend who is a science reporter, told him, "This will never be published in Korea."
Hmm. Seems to be a common phenomenom, bridging both sides of the Pacific Ocean:)
http://barnesworld.blogs.com/barnes_world/2006/05/dont_eat_the_ki.html |
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PaperTiger
Joined: 31 May 2005
Location: Ulaanbataar
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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Some ddeok is actually quite good. It's the "celebratory" ddeok that does me in. The stuff that looks like a tray of dirt and cheap glue sticks pressed into cake is even less appealing in taste than it is to look at. Oooh...dried, mealy beans, and tasteless, chewy gunk. If this is what they ate to celebrate a special occasion in the past, I'd hate to be subjected to their regular fare.
Much of what Koreans eat these days is quite savory and appealing, but some of the old stuff people used to cobble together during the war looks like something Baldrick would cook up for Colonel Blackadder. |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Smee wrote: |
I like ddeok, and will even *gasp* pick some up for myself and the gf.
However, when it comes out in school I usually absent myself. Why? Because it's the loudest goddamn food in all of Korea. First, everyone moves around the office going 떡떡떡떡떡떡, then there's the smacking that you can nearly hear down the hall, and then there's the commentary that goes "delicious delicious delicious 떡떡떡 delicious delicious" for about six minutes. And if there's watermelon you not only get SMACK SMACK SMACK you get ssssssssssssssssssslllllllllllllluuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrq238940ru234890ru-23r9jioajf2389! in between bites. It's why Xenu invented headphones. |
The subak slurp is the worst. |
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kiknkorea
Joined: 16 May 2008
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| Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 1:02 am Post subject: |
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| Robot_Teacher wrote: |
| They think every man needs to drink it, becuase it makes a real man out of you and is the norm. |
That sounds all too familier. Been around plenty of boneheads like that in the states. 
Good job taking a stand and not partaking. |
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Johnny_Bravo
Joined: 27 May 2009
Location: R.O.K.
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| Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 7:52 am Post subject: |
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| Robot_Teacher wrote: |
I hate it at school dinners how the men push soju and Hite on me, because I don't drink that and they do. They think every man needs to drink it, becuase it makes a real man out of you and is the norm. I beg to differ as I don't need that garbage.
I take the dyuk rice cakes and Korean lunch. They say, "You must really like Korean food," in a way that doubts their own expectation that I would not like it. I'm like yes, "Korean food is very good."
OP is being tormented. |
I eat what I want, not what they want me to eat.
I drink at my leisure, which means not on weekdays and not for school dinners.
Actually, I think 95% of the time they're just trying to be friendly with encouragement regarding eating Korean food or drinking soju.
It's always good when you're twice the size of the adjeosshi teachers your school. (and I don't mean pantsize) That tends to be keep the nonsense of "you must eat a lot of bap to be strong" and "real men drink soju" down to an absolute minimum. |
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