It is rude to give myself a Korean name? 😳💭

Ask me anything~!!!! 😘

2023. 6. 19.

TEUIDA: Learn Korean by Speaking

Teugether Today

AMA <3

❤️ Hello Everyone~! ❤️

I hope you're all having a great dayyyy!!! It feels like forever since I've spoken to you guys but Teuida is back with another newsletter this week. Since we've done drama and kpop in the past couple of weeks, I thought I would answer your guys' questions this week with an AMA (Ask me anything)!!! 😁I've missed doing these and honestly your questions are super interesting so I'm excited to

get to them! Let's get started and as always,

don't forget to leave your questions below! 😎

Hope you guys enjoy this week's newsletter and that

you’re able to learn something new! ❤️😎

1. Where does the tradition of eating tofu after being released from prison come from? 😆

(I’ve seen this referenced in a few K-Dramas so am curious to learn the origin. Thank you for your ever-insightful newsletters!)

This is honestly such an interesting question, I'm so glad you guys are curious about these different cultural practices because it makes me feel like you're really getting into the culture below the surface! 😎

So I knew the answer to this question on the surface and most people will know the answer as: The whiteness of plain tofu represents purity, being able to start over with a clean slate. This is the overall and most broad reason! In many cultures the color white is associated with cleanliness/purity and it is the same in Korea! 😁 (We're just talking about pure colors here I promise). So the tofu being fully white and plain represents the prisoner being able to start over their life fresh and pure!

BUT, when looking up the answer to make sure I was right-- I actually discovered other reasons for this! They are:

1. Eating 콩밥 --> eating tofu

There is a common phrase in Korean when someone is going to prison you say they are going to eat 콩밥 (bean rice). Because during the Japanese occupation of Korea, they would mix beans into the rice in order to make it more filling but cut costs. 🤐 People still use this phrase often and you've probably heard it in many dramas as well. If you didn't know tofu is actually made from beans as well, but tofu is a very rich food. The base ingredient is the same yet tofu represents something rich and healthy rather than something cheap so eating it represents the transition from eating 콩밥 --> eating tofu !!! 🤗

2. Healthiness of Tofu

As mentioned above, Tofu is a really healthy food! Because it is rich in nutrients and especially rich in protein (which prisoners were usually deprived of because it was expensive), it was served to those released! Prisoners usually left prison malnourished back then so giving them a protien rich food was for their health! ❤️

That explanation got so much longer than I thought but there is so much history in it! 😁 Hope I answered your question <3

2. Can you give us some of your recommendations for Korean food? 😎

Since the internet is so vast, I will give you some recommendations BUT I am not going to explain them too extensively~ 😆 I trust that you guys have the power of google with you to find more info <3

1. 돼지국밥 (Dwe-ji-guk-bap)

This is might be a little strong for people who haven't tried Korean food yet so maybe for those who are a little more seasoned in the cuisine! This is a pork and rice soup and is a lot of Korean people's soul food! Also: A great hangover cure in my experience 😁❤️

2. 연어 육회 (yeon-oh yuk-hwe)

This is less of a Korean dish and more of a Korean combination of foods but it is Salmon and raw meat (like tartare? if I am not wrong). It is SUPER good and is often had as a late night food too! If you guys like soju, try having soju with Salmon sashimi and Korean raw meat! I swear you'll thank me:) 💝

3. Is it rude to give myself a Korean name?

Hm... Always a difficult question to answer! But let me try to break it down the best that I can :) Remember this is my general belief and others might feel differently, but this seems to be how most of the people around me feel about this as well! ❤️

So, no there is nothing wrong with giving yourself a Korean name if you need it for convenience. If you're travelling to Korea or interacting with a lot of Koreans and need a Korean name in order to make things easier, yes do it! But I do think that as someone who is not Korean, you should maintain the name as kind of similar to your own name (so it's obvious that it is out of convenience and you're not just giving yourself a name as a fashion). 😁

For example, your name is Elizabeth: you can make your Korean name:

리즈 (liz) or 엘리 (eli) -- not straight up naming yourself 현아 (HYUNA) or something. You know what I mean?

As many of you know there are a lot of people who fetishize Korean culture and Korea in general and I hope you guys remember that there is a culture and a history of people behind the language you are learning :) It isn't just a trend or a fashion but there are real people who are behind the names! SO, I'd say, give yourself a Korean name (like the one above) but don't give yourself a Korean last name. As I've said before, Korean last names are tied to family lineage so I'd steer clear of doing that ❤️

Hope that helped! Have a great week everyone :)

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