[New Slang Dictionary] Ojeochigo - Tonight's Dinner is Chickendak

Ojeochigo is an abbreviation of "오늘 저녁 치킨 Go," meaning "Let's go eat chicken tonight." Illustration by artist Oh Seongsu

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The earliest record of fried chicken in human history is found in "De Re Coquinaria," believed to have been compiled around the 1st century. The dish, called "Apicius Chicken," is described as chicken lightly fried in thin oil and then baked in an oven. During the Joseon Dynasty, there was a dish considered an ancestor of fried chicken. The dish called Pogye, mentioned in "Sangayorok" written by the Joseon-era physician Jeon Sun-ui, is the main example. The cooking method is as follows: one chicken is cut into 24 to 25 pieces, oil is poured, and the heated bowl is used to stir-fry the meat quickly by flipping it with hands. A sauce is made by mixing flour with cheongjang (fermented soybean paste) and sesame oil, then served with vinegar. As the name Pogye (火+包鷄), meaning to roast or pan-fry chicken, suggests, it was likely chicken cooked in oil. In an era when oil was precious, frying was a cooking method hardly attempted. Moreover, Pogye was said to be a dish served to honored guests even in noble households.

Ojeochigo is an abbreviation of "Tonight Chicken Go," meaning "Let's go eat chicken tonight." According to last year's statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the average poultry consumption per capita in South Korea was 18.2 kg, indicating that the entire population consumes about 1.5 chickens per person per month. Analysis of year-end and New Year order data released by Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, also showed that the most ordered food by Koreans on New Year's Day was undoubtedly chicken. Eventually, a "Chimelier Certification Exam" was introduced to select chicken experts who can identify the brand and type of chicken just by smelling it, proving their skills. Cooking PD Lee Wookjung expressed gratitude toward chicken in his book "Chicken Humanity" as follows: "For many years, we have owed our lives to chickens. Without this bird, humanity's table might have been much poorer. Because of the affordable and healthy animal protein source called chicken, meat could be placed on everyone's table." Tonight, the beautiful chicken, chicken, will once again conveniently and warmly comfort our hungry souls.

Example

A: Hey, why do you look so gloomy? Is something wrong?
B: I went all-in on bio stocks after listening to a friend yesterday, but as soon as I invested, they started falling.
A: Life and stocks both require a long-term view. Feeling down, how about Ojeochigo?
B: Whether happy or sad, the only constant comfort is chicken. Call!
A: People may betray us, but the Chicken God never does. Tonight's dinner is chicken-nidak!