Korean Eating Etiquette: 8 Rules Before You Sit Down
Last Updated on April 29, 2026
The food is served and you are ready to dig in… but wait, do you know good table manners in Korea? I’ve made plenty of mistakes around the dinner table in Korea, chief among them tapping my father-in-law’s soju glass when he poured his own drink. I’ll get to that story later.
There is a lot to know about eating in Korea and I should add that a lot depends on who you’re eating with. I’ll get to that later too. Anyway, you’re ready to eat in Korea. Before you do, let’s learn the Korean eating etiquette so you can dig right in.
What to know about Korean table manners:
- Get Ready To Speak Some Korean
- Make Sure You Know Who Is The Oldest… and Youngest
- Know What To Do With The Utensils & Bowl
- It’s Not A Buffet
- Don’t Chit Chat or Make Noise While You’re Eating
- Pouring Drinks and the Soju Glass Story
- Balanced Bites
- Speed Eating… Or Not
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1 Get Ready To Speak Some Korean
Two sentences to learn before you sit down:
잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokgesseumnida): “I will eat well.” Said before the meal begins, directed to whoever cooked or is paying. The functional equivalent of thanking a chef.
잘 먹었습니다 (jal meogeosseumnida): “I ate well.” Said at the end of the meal — a way of saying thank you indirectly by telling the host the food was satisfying. The two phrases look similar on paper and sound similar out loud, but one is before and one is after.
Koreans also greet each other by asking whether they’ve eaten, something that takes some getting used to. Read more about the have-you-eaten custom and what it means in Korean culture.
2 Make Sure You Know Who Is The Oldest… and Youngest
Technically, when it’s time to dive in, the oldest person gets first dibs. I say technically because numerous times in my experience, the oldest person tells me or the others at the table to go right ahead and dig in. So I guess, you should either wait until the oldest person takes their first bite, or wait until the oldest person tells you it’s fine to take a bite.
Maybe we should back up for just a moment. Who is supposed to cook at the table? This REALLY depends on who is at the table in my experience. You’ll hear that the older person should do the cooking but in my husband’s group of friends, that experience is relegated to the youngest guy at the table.
What you should really know is you will almost never be asked to do it if you’re at a table with Koreans. They’ll probably assume you don’t know what you’re doing and so whether you’re the oldest or youngest, you won’t even be asked. When in doubt, take a cue from those at the table.
When you’re out and about with a boisterous crew that’s looking to go for multiple rounds, which generally means you’re jumping from one restaurant to another, the best and really ONLY time you can leave is enroute to the next stop.
Keep this in mind. If the oldest person is still having a great ‘ole time, it’s really difficult to skedaddle, but if everyone is already up and walking, it’s a lot easier to sort of bow out, literally, start bowing and backing away.
Remember that age is a bit different in Korea. Make sure you know Conversations With Koreans: How many bowls of tteokguk have you eaten?!
3 Know What To Do With The Utensils & Bowl
A few specific rules:
Don’t pick up the rice bowl. In Japan, lifting the bowl to your mouth while eating rice is normal. In Korea, it isn’t. Use a spoon to scoop the rice.
Spoon for rice and soup; chopsticks for everything else. Side dishes (banchan) and meat are for chopsticks. Soups and rice are for the spoon. In a formal setting, stick to this division. With close friends who are enjoying a good soup, picking up the bowl to drink the remaining broth is more forgivable, but read the room.
Never stick chopsticks upright in a rice bowl. Chopsticks standing straight up in rice resemble incense sticks placed in rice for the dead at a funeral, it’s a powerful symbol of death and is deeply inauspicious. If you need to put chopsticks down, lay them across the top of the bowl or on a stand if one is available.
Don’t use chopsticks as skewers. It works, but it’s considered poor form.
Did you notice that Korea is the only country with metal chopsticks? Learn more about Korean chopsticks and don’t worry if it takes you some time to figure out how to use them.
4 It’s Not A Buffet
The table has been set and there are a tremendous amount of delicious looking dishes spread across the table. Do NOT take a bunch at one go and fill your plate like it’s a buffet. Take just enough for a couple bites and mix it up with a bite of rice and side dishes and then some of the soup, and then go back to the rice and then grab some kimchi. Sharing is caring after all. Don’t hoard all of one dish on the table.
5 Don’t Chit Chat or Make Noise While You’re Eating
If you’ve ever attended a templestay program in Korea, then you were probably shown and told that you should make no noise while you’re eating. No talking. No clinking of utensils against bowls. No slapping your lips together or chewing noisily. Nothing. This goes for pretty traditional settings.
Again, take cues from those around you. My Korean family is fairly strict about this. Coming from a family who enjoys long dinners mostly filled with talk of the day and news, it’s always a difficult transition when we visit their house. Eat quietly and quickly and then you can chat after.
That said, read the room. My Korean family is like that, but most of the outings for dinners you’ll have will be with friends, maybe co-workers, and then it’s really a much different story. Enjoy the discussion.
6 Pouring Drinks and the Soju Glass Story
Keep an eye on the glasses around you. When someone’s glass is empty, fill it, that’s your responsibility as much as anyone else’s. Don’t lean far down the table; keep it natural and fill the glasses near you. When your own glass is empty, someone else will refill it. If you don’t want to drink more, take sips rather than draining the glass, since an empty glass is an invitation for a refill.
When pouring or receiving: use two hands. This doesn’t mean both hands hold the bottle or glass simultaneously, that’s a gesture reserved for showing very high respect. Instead, hold the bottle in one hand and place your other hand on your lower forearm. Similarly, hold the glass with one hand and rest the other on your forearm when receiving. This applies to both the person pouring and the person receiving.
Did you know there are five rounds in a Korean night out? Read more about a night out in Korea and how to last all five rounds!
Now for a little story time as promised in the intro. While the standard drinking etiquette in Korea is as mentioned above, it’s not uncommon to find people pouring for themselves. You shouldn’t start the trend at your table, but if you notice an older Korean at your table doing it, then it’s fine.
I noticed way back that my husband’s group of friends would often pour their own glasses or shots of soju and when they did, to show respect but not have to go through the trouble of pouring with two hands and all, another person nearby would sort of just tap the glass with their finger.
I had seen it so much that I thought it must be a normal thing among Koreans. (Apparently my husband just has plenty of friends and they all do this.) Suffice to say, we sat down with my father-in-law enjoying some sool after jesa one holiday and he poured his own shot. I tapped the side of his glass and all hell broke loose.
No, no. It wasn’t that bad, but my FIL’s face was a mixture of confusion and shock and my husband sputtered trying to figure out how to say my wife just confused my friend group’s show of respect for you. In the end, we all laughed but , watch those Koreans around you. Do what they do. It’s as easy as that really.
7 Balanced Bites
A Korean meal is designed to be eaten across the whole table. There will be something spicy, something mild, something fermented, something fresh. The ideal way to eat is to move between dishes, a bite of meat, a bite of kimchi, a bite of rice, a bit of something green, rather than eating through one dish entirely before moving to the next.
If you stick only to one side dish and rice, others at the table may feel you don’t want to share. The variety is the point.
8 Speed Eating… Or Not
I’m a slow eater. Well, it’s because I enjoy talking during dinner, so I’m just taking bites between discussion. As mentioned though, you shouldn’t be all that chatty if you’re dining traditional style. Whether you’re talking or not, you’ll want to pace yourself with those around you.
If you’re slower, people will start to think you don’t like the food or they’ll feel awkward as they slow down too. Try to wrap up at the same time as those around you so everyone gets their comfortable fill.
FAQ
What are the most important Korean table manners?
Wait for the oldest person to start eating; don’t lift your rice bowl to your mouth; use a spoon for rice and soup and chopsticks for side dishes; never stick chopsticks upright in rice; use two hands when pouring or receiving drinks; take small amounts from shared dishes rather than loading up.
Why can’t you stick chopsticks upright in rice in Korea?
Chopsticks standing upright in a rice bowl resemble incense sticks placed in rice during funeral rites, it’s a symbol associated with death and is considered deeply inauspicious at a dinner table.
Is it rude to pour your own drink in Korea?
In formal settings, yes, pouring for yourself rather than others is considered impolite. In casual friend groups, it happens, and a friend may tap your glass lightly as an informal acknowledgment. This friend-group gesture does not transfer to elders or formal situations.
What does jal meokgesseumnida mean?
잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokgesseumnida) means “I will eat well”, said before a meal as a way of thanking the host or whoever is paying. The similar-sounding 잘 먹었습니다 (jal meogeosseumnida) means “I ate well” and is said after the meal as indirect thanks.
Can you pick up a bowl in Korea?
For the rice bowl, no, this is generally not done in Korean dining culture, unlike in Japan. For a soup bowl among close friends at the end of a meal to drink remaining broth, it’s more situationally acceptable. Read the room.
How do you pour drinks at a Korean dinner?
Hold the bottle in one hand and rest your other hand on your forearm, not holding the bottle with both hands simultaneously unless you want to show very high esteem. The person receiving the drink does the same: glass in one hand, other hand on the forearm. Fill others’ glasses when they’re empty; your own glass will be filled by others.
Korean table manners aren’t difficult once you know them, and most Koreans eating with foreigners extend patience and understanding for honest mistakes. The biggest rule is the one the article started with: watch those around you and follow the lead of the oldest person at the table.
And don’t tap your father-in-law’s soju glass.
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3 Comments
Cynthia Gurin
Thank you kindly for your reply, Hallie. I was particularly curious since your initial post seemed to suggest the opposite where table manners are concerned. We have lived in a number of countries but were not fortunate enough to have counted South Korea among them.
CG
In watching a newly discovered treasure trove of English subtitled K-dramas on Netflix (surprisingly fine quality writing, and truly excellent acting) I was struck by a number of things which prompted be to do some research. (1) Heavy drinking (hooboy!) (2) Respect for elders (nice) (3) Outrageously awful table manners (loudly slurping, chewing with mouths open, stuffing an inordinate amount of food in the mouth, etc.) Is the latter normal? Because while your description suggests it is not, in literally dozens of multi-episode K-dramas, poor table manners and being fall down drunk, including young women, appears to be the norm.
Hallie Bradley
What are table manners in one place may not be in another. It sounds like you assume table manners are the same everywhere… Saying that have outrageously bad table manners is looking at it from your non-Korean perspective. In Korea, and a few other countries that I know of, slurping isn’t rude at all and when eating noodles or soups actually means that one is enjoying their food. If you eat a noodle soup exceedingly quiet, the host/cook will assume you’re NOT enjoying your meal. People do chew with their mouths open… it’s not really considered to be bad manners and some things are supposed to be eaten big and people that can stuff the entire thing into their mouth are bringing good luck upon themselves.