Chung Heechung
Ewha woman’s University
In Korea, sweets have changed in meaning and context during modern times. Radically changed by external factors, sweets are important for understanding Korea's modern and contemporary culture.
Before the modern period, bans were often imposed on sweets, which belonged to luxury items. While many national events were held in the Goryeo period, ordinary people were barred from eating traditional sweets to prevent a short supply of food ingredients. In the beginning of the Joseon period, sweets were subject to legal prohibition, except for special rituals, such as marriage and ancestral rites. Throughout the history of the Joseon period, a king who would like to emphasize his frugality ordered the removal of sweets or to lower the amount of sweets in banquets because honey served as a main ingredient for sweet taste and was high-priced. Sugar was not produced at all in Korea, unlike in China or Japan, and was only imported in very small quantities to be used as medicine.
After the opening of its ports during the Joseon period, refined sugar began to be imported on a full scale and the royalty tried to show their cultural prestige by serving foreigners Western-style sweets, along with tea and sugar, following Western etiquette. Japanese and Chinese merchants who had immigrated to Korea captivated the taste of Koreans by selling sweets to them. The confectionary industry was introduced by the Japanese in the Japanese colonial era.
Today, Korea has a dual structure of sweets culture. Korean traditional sweets are used for rites, while Western and Japanese-style sweets are spread among people in everyday life. In a counter-effort, the Korean Government, and some people, have attempted to revive faded traditional recipes, to introduce new materials, and to develop packaging suitable for a contemporary industrial society.
(Presented in the 2016 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: Sweet Culture and the Joy of Life, 17-18 August 2016, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies and Indian Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University)