15 Korean New Year Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What do Koreans eat for new year 2024? ›

Tteokguk. This savoury rice cake and meat stock soup is a staple of Korean cuisine and a signature dish during the Lunar New Year. The broth is most commonly beef-based. Seaweed and green onion can be added to the dish.

The dish consists of the broth/soup (guk) with thinly sliced rice cakes (tteok). It is tradition to eat tteokguk on New Year's Day because it is believed to grant the people good luck for the year and gain a year of age.

Tteokguk (rice cake soup) is a delicious, filling soup made of disc-shaped rice cakes in a clear broth. Koreans always eat it on Seollal (Korean New Year's Day), the first day of the Lunar calendar and one of the most important holidays in Korea.

Also called yakbap, this sweet but healthy rice cake is made with glutinous rice, honey, dried fruit and nuts. This dessert is usually made from rice or soybean flour and comes in various natural colors, flavors and shapes like letters or flowers.

Tteokguk (떡국)

Originally tteokguk was strictly eaten on the first day of the Lunar New Year to signify good luck and the gaining of another year in age.

In South Korea, it's said that eating a bowl of rice-cake soup on New Year's Day — whether by the Gregorian or Lunar calendar — marks the passing of a year, and turning a year older.

In Korea, Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year, and it is a day when the entire family gathers in hanbok, traditional Korean clothes, to do saebae, which is the most important tradition. It is an act of bowing deeply with respect to wish a happy new year to elders while saying Saehae bok mani badsaeyo.

The Hyangyak-jipseongbang, which dates back to around 1433 during the Chosun dynasty, is one of the oldest writings mentioning gochujang. Gochujang is a fermented bean paste that has red pepper powder, soybean powder and rice flour added to it to create a spicy paste.

In South Korea, a monetary gift is given to children by their relatives during the New Year period. Bags known as bokjumeoni (복주머니) are used instead of red envelopes.

Many urban Korean have adopted the American way of eating — a big breakfast, light lunch, and a big dinner. Rice and kimchi are the dietary base, and often eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Koreans are often in a hurry and wolf down their food very quickly.

What is Korea's national dish? ›

Kimchi is often hailed as the national dish of Korea and is an integral part of Korean meals. This fermented vegetable dish, most commonly made with napa cabbage and Korean radishes, is seasoned with a mixture of spices, including chili pepper, garlic, ginger, and more.

According to a survey conducted among residents of various cities worldwide in 2022 on what Korean dishes they usually ate, around 34.46 percent of respondents answered they had eaten Kimchi, a traditional side dish served with most dishes.

Persimmon is native to southeastern China, being the national fruit both in Japan and Korea, and its cultivation has reached countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Taiwan, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United States, North Africa, Corsica and southern France.

In Korea, Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year, and it is a day when the entire family gathers in hanbok, traditional Korean clothes, to do saebae, which is the most important tradition. It is an act of bowing deeply with respect to wish a happy new year to elders while saying Saehae bok mani badsaeyo.

Sebae is the act of kneeling on the ground and bowing deeply so that your hands are also on the ground. Younger people must bow deeply to their elders and wish them a happy new year. This deep traditional bow signifies respect. People often wear 한복 (hanbok), traditional clothing in Korea, whilst performing sebae.

Seollal (설날) or Korean New Year is one of the most important Korean holidays and it lasts up to three days. During this time, many Koreans spend time with their families and loved ones. They take part in important ancestral rituals, eat traditional foods, and even wear hanbok (한복), traditional Korean clothing.

South Koreans embrace several traditional customs during the New Year, including the symbolic act of bowing to elders (Sebae), the age-gaining tradition associated with eating tteokguk (rice cake soup), and paying homage to ancestors through rituals like Charye.