[Initial Moment] The Era of Tanghulu Fasting

These days, Tanghulu is said to be popular among the MZ generation. Every time I see long lines at stores waiting to eat it, I wonder what it actually tastes like. I find standing in line bothersome, but I also don’t want to fall behind the trend, so I asked a younger MZ generation colleague what it tastes like, and they described it as "extremely sweet." Since it’s sweet fruit coated with sweet sugar syrup, it’s no surprise that it’s very sweet. I can understand why obesity rates are soaring.

Desserts that layer sugar on top of sugar sell like hotcakes, but the consumption of rice, the ‘staple food,’ is gradually decreasing. This is because people no longer place value simply on filling their stomachs. Except for some marginalized groups, the qualitative aspects of meals such as taste and appearance have become more important than just satiating hunger. Considering that only half a century ago, during the barley famine period, many people endured hunger by surviving on ‘chogeunmokpi’ (eating grass and tree bark), this is truly a dramatic change.

The hunger of this era has a completely different meaning from the hunger during the ‘chogeunmokpi’ era. A representative example is the ‘intermittent fasting’ craze that has been sweeping for several years. Young people are adopting intermittent fasting to maintain health and achieve a good-looking body to take ‘body profile’ photos. On the other hand, some girls who idolize idol physiques starve themselves recklessly, causing social problems. Starving has become associated with health and beauty.

Fasting, or ‘dan-sik,’ has often been used as a political protest method by those pushed to the brink. Historically, the most famous example is Gandhi’s fasting protest under British colonial rule. In Korea, the most well-known cases are opposition leaders Kim Dae-jung (DJ) and Kim Young-sam (YS) fasting to demand democratization. During the harsh military regime, with no other means available, risking one’s life in fasting protests must have resonated deeply with the public.

However, fasting protests in recent years have failed to create social impact. This includes the fasting protests by Lee Jung-hyun, Saenuri Party leader in 2016, Kim Sung-tae, Liberty Korea Party floor leader in 2017, and as of the 8th, the ninth day of fasting by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party. Instead, what returns is only ridicule and mockery from political opponents. Those who are not politically highly engaged do not even pay attention.

Fasting may be a political protest method that is hard to empathize with in today’s era. The DJ and YS era, when fasting protests were part of democratization, had many people who painfully remembered the barley famine and hunger. For those who knew that pain, fasting might have carried a more desperate meaning. But now, there are more people without memories of hunger, especially among the youth.

Political resistance methods have also become more diverse than before. It is no longer the harsh military regime or colonial rule era. If desired, one can freely express opinions through social networking services (SNS) and various media, and participate in signature campaigns and outdoor protests. What matters more than the form of protest like fasting is how persuasive the protest message and justification are.

In a world where the meaning of ‘starving’ has changed, the means of political resistance must also change.

Lee Ji-eun, Deputy Head of Issue Team 1