[Book Sip] 8 Snacks That Brought 'Sweetness' to Colonial Joseon

Editor's NoteSome sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly resonate with readers, creating a connection with the book. We excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from books.

Food culture researcher Professor Park Hyun-su introduces desserts that were popular among Koreans during the Joseon period. He tells stories about eight snacks that brought sweetness to people during the bleak times of colonial Joseon, which was filled with bitterness. Through items like coffee, which had a bitter taste but a peculiar charm, Manju sold by working students to earn tuition, the melon that writer Yi Sang wanted to eat just before his death, hotteok that was bigger than the face and filling as a meal, and Ramune, the first carbonated drink in Joseon, he explores the lives of people at that time.

The most important occasion that made the food called Manju widely known in colonial Joseon was the 'Galdophoe.' Galdophoe, which the working student Kim Seong-yeon?who was killed while selling Manju?also joined, was a group of students studying while working in Gyeongseong. They rented a tiled house with about 30 rooms at 70 Hyoja-dong, Gyeongseong, which was used as both a dormitory and a factory. In the early 1920s, there were about 150 members, but by June 1924, the number had increased to about 1,300. (…) Among them, the most common occupation was being a Manju vendor.

In the September 1930 issue of the magazine , a somewhat satirical article titled “Nude Flood?The Painter’s Studio and the Nude Model” was published. The writer always sought to see the image of a naked woman he longed for and visited painter M’s studio. Upon his visit, M brought two melons and three apples on a plate as a treat for the guest. Just then, the female model arrived, and the melons became the model’s share.

The reason for feeling embarrassed to go to a hotteok shop was also related to the fact that hotteok was an inexpensive food mainly eaten by the lower class. However, the embarrassment or shame about eating hotteok or visiting a hotteok shop was not only because of the price. People did not express such embarrassment when buying similarly priced Manju or roasted sweet potatoes. The embarrassment is related to the perception that colonial Koreans had about China and Chinese people during that era.

As the first carbonated drink introduced in Joseon, Ramune’s popularity seemed tremendous. An article titled “Refreshing Drinks Used in Summer” published in the July 1927 issue of stated that summer drinks should be cold and refreshing. It mentioned that drinks like Ramune contain carbonation, which makes one feel refreshed when consumed, and discussed the effects of carbonation. (…) In the past, people drank stream or spring water, but now, thanks to civilization, they drink cooler refreshing beverages.

Korean consumers did not only eat cheap chocolate. In Kim Mal-bong’s novel , there is a scene where Kyung-ae and Jeong-soon eat chocolate together. The chocolate they ate contained whiskey inside. (…) It was also commonly used as a gift when visiting others’ homes or hospitals. Novels published in October 1937, such as , and in May 1937, like , include scenes where guests unwrap “chocolates the size of chestnuts” and eat them.

How did roasted sweet potatoes push out roasted chestnuts to become the representative winter dessert? The article “Roasted Chestnuts Without Bargaining, Sweet Potatoes in Season” published in the January 1931 issue of provides a clue. (…) For 10 jeon, you could get about 40 roasted chestnuts, but only four or five roasted sweet potatoes. A normally sized sweet potato could fill an adult with just one or two, whereas eating many roasted chestnuts did not easily bring satiety.

Hotteok and Chocolate, Coming to Gyeongseong | Written by Park Hyun-su | Hankyoreh Publishing | 356 pages | 20,000 KRW