Korean Job Discussion Forums

[coffeeman]

Everyday in my school's cafeteria, there it stands, the big stainless steel rice cooker full of white rice. With each day that I see it, I just wanna grab that thing and throw it out the window. Why do Koreans need to eat white rice at every every meal? It's crazy!

Here's my theory: It's an economics thing. It's put into every Korean's head that he / she has to eat rice everyday. Just as tobacco farmers would love us to all be pack a day smokers, the Korean rice farmers want everyone here to eat rice everyday. Maybe the Korean gov. is behind the campaign to get everyone to eat rice. Either this theory is right or Koreans are just boring people when it comes to food.

[Corporal]

I know what you mean, and white rice certainly is useless nutritionally, but to them it's like bread is to us. Westerners don't think it's weird if someone has bread or bread products at every meal. (Bagel at breakfast, sandwich at lunch, biscuits with meat and gravy for dinner...) I think the real difference is that we have the choice of getting bread in so many different forms whereas rice is just rice, unless you pound the crap out of it and then it's dduk and not really edible by that point.

[nautilus]

Rice does get exceedingly boring. But its the staple, all over Asia.
I suppose Europe has a little more variety in bread, pasta, and cereals..

[visitor q]

[nautilus]

[EFLtrainer]

Ignorance of history is dangerous in such a thread. (Said to no person in particular.) Reading a book or two on Korean history might clear that up a bit - even if there is no mention of rice. Honestly, of all the mysteries I've encountered in Korea, this is not one of them. Bazic cultur info + basic historical info = no mystery as to rice.

Ah, but I lied. WHY the Korean connection to rice, I get. But the depth of of it still baffles me. E.g., Koreans taking kimchi and rice WITH them on vacation out of fear they can't do without it while away, or cannot suffer without "Korean" rice while traveling. (Actually, that last I fully understand. Still find it a bit strange, but I do get it.)

[Ya-ta Boy]

Actually, per capita consumption of rice is down.

[captain kirk]

As kids we'd swirl hard icecream in its bowl and crank it until it would be soft icecream, like Dairy Queen. Maybe that's what Koreans are doing with Doc, rice putty.

[matthews_world]

As we all know, Korea has been a relatively poor country up until the '80s and 90's when it saw economic boon. The Asian climate and topography is perfect for rice growing. North American farmland is pretty much flat. Koreans can't grow much else because of the rolling mountains.

Face it. Rice is cheap and filling. Where else but in Korean do you hear the words "�� �Ӱ�!"(sp?)

[mindmetoo]

Rice isn't just so much twigs to fill the stomach, contrary to Corporal's comments. It supplies protein, fibre, fat, iron and B vitamins. Rice gives high yields and grows almost anywhere where there's lots of water. It is very labor intensive but when you have a massive peasant popular, well, labor isn't a problem.

And they just don't eat it in the grain form. Take dduk for starters...

Anyway, many Koreans can't figure out why we eat bread with everything or put cheese on everything.

[pet lover]

Corporal was referring to WHITE rice, I believe, which I think is about equal to chomping down on day old wonder bread.

Now, get some nice sprouted brown rice mixed with some sprouted barley, then you are talking wholesome food. And I rarely see Koreans eating that. I assume the must since it's available. Our school serves white rice to the kindy kids every day. I asked once why we didn't serve something a bit healthier and was told that the kids wouldn't eat brown rice because it tastes bad. Jee, way to teach good eating habits!

[Rteacher]

For more info, let's consult Wikipedia:

Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities worldwide than any other type of crop and provides more food energy to the human race than any other crop. In some developing nations, cereal grains constitute practically the entire diet of common folk. In developed nations, cereal consumption is more moderate but still substantial. The word cereal has its origin in the Roman goddess of grain, Ceres. Staple food grains are traditionally called corn in Britain, though that word became specified for maize in the United States, Canada and Australia.

True cereals
The cereal crops are (in approximate order of greatest annual production):

wheat, the primary cereal of temperate regions
rice, the primary cereal of tropical regions
maize, a staple food of peoples in North America, South America, and Africa and of livestock worldwide; called "corn" or "Indian corn" in North America and Australia
millets, a group of similar but distinct cereals that form an important staple food in Asia and Africa.
sorghums, important staple food in Asia and Africa and popular worldwide for livestock
rye and triticale, important in cold climates
oats, formerly the staple food of Scotland and popular worldwide for livestock
barley, grown for malting and livestock on land too poor or too cold for wheat
fonio, several varieties of which are grown as food crops in Africa
teff, popular in Ethiopia but scarcely known elsewhere
wild rice, grown in small amounts in North America
spelt, a close relative of wheat

While each individual species has its own peculiarities, the cultivation of all cereals crops is similar. All are annual plants; consequently one planting yields one harvest. Wheat, rye, triticale, oats, barley, and spelt are the cool-season cereals. These are hardy plants that grow well in moderate weather and cease to grow in hot weather (approximately 30 ��C but this varies by species and variety). The other warm-season cereals are tender and prefer hot weather.

Barley and rye are the hardiest cereals, able to overwinter in the subarctic and Siberia. Wheat is the most popular. All cool-season cereals are grown in the tropics, but only in the cool highlands, where it may be possible to grow multiple crops in a year.

[Corporal]