Rano ryż, wieczorem ryżanka – o (nie)zmiennej roli ryżu na Półwyspie Koreańskim
The (Un)Changing Role of Rice in Korean Food Culture

Author(s): Kamila Kozioł
Subject(s): Social history, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: rice consumption; rice rationing; food customs; konggitpap
Summary/Abstract: This article offers a diachronic analysis of the role of rice in Korea’s social history, spanning from pre-state agricultural communities to the 20th century consumer culture. Challenging notions of “traditional Korean cuisine”, the study shows how rice has undergone significant transformations: from ritual good and social currency to regulated commodity and standardised dietary staple. Particular attention is given to the Japanese colonial period, during which rice became subject to strict state control, a process that continued in South Korean food policy after 1945. The institutionalization of konggitpap – the standardised metal rice bowl used in restaurants – is examined as both a tool of state intervention and a symbolic object of postwar nutritional rationing. Combining historical, anthropological, and economic perspectives, the article proposes a framework for understanding rice as a culturally and politically charged phenomenon.

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