Dining Etiquette for Visitors

Most Korean meals arrive all at once: individual bowls of rice and soup, surrounded by shared side dishes in the middle of the table. Etiquette grows out of that arrangement. This page covers the habits a visitor is most likely to notice, and the reasons behind them. Households and restaurants differ, and Korea.net's own guide to table manners notes that many families eat casually, so treat these as the usual courtesies rather than strict rules.

Waiting for elders

The best-known custom is that younger people wait until the oldest person at the table has picked up their utensils before they begin. In a group of strangers or colleagues, the same instinct applies to whoever seems most senior. If you are the guest, the host will usually start things off, and following their lead is the safe approach.

Spoon and chopsticks

The Korea.net guide describes the usual layout as a spoon on the left and chopsticks on the right of each setting, with rice on the left and soup on the right. The spoon is for rice and soup; chopsticks are for side dishes. Two points travelers often ask about: do not stand chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice, a gesture reserved for rituals for the dead (see jesa food), and do not lift your rice or soup bowl off the table to eat. Both habits are explained in more detail in the history of the spoon and chopsticks and in Korean table settings.

Korea.net also lists a few general courtesies, such as not picking your teeth or blowing your nose at the table.

Shared dishes

Side dishes are placed within reach of everyone, and you take a little at a time from the part of the dish nearest you. The custom is explored in sharing banchan, and the structure of the meal in the balanced Korean meal. Dishes such as stews are often eaten from one pot; if you prefer your own portion, asking for an extra small bowl or plate is ordinary. The Korea Times reports that individual serving plates and self-service banchan stations have spread in restaurants and homes, partly for hygiene and to reduce waste, so you will often see both styles.

Drinks

If alcohol is part of the meal, a few habits are worth knowing. According to Korea.net, you pour for and receive drinks from an older person with both hands, and when drinking in front of an older person you turn slightly away from them. Practice varies, so watching the people around you is the practical guide. For the wider drinking-table customs, including the snacks eaten with drinks, see anju and drinking culture.

Wraps, grills and other special cases

At a barbecue table, wrapping meat, rice and sauce in a leaf is a particular art; the practice is described in ssam culture and Korean barbecue culture.

If you slip

Restaurant staff are used to visitors, and nobody expects you to know every custom. Following what the people around you do, being patient with elders and sharing generously covers nearly everything. For the practical side of ordering and paying, see ordering and paying.