Learn How to Correctly Use Chopsticks!

Each country has its own culture. Some special table manners form an important part of Korean culture. If you do not learn the etiquette, you can may be considered a rude person. With this in mind, shall we learn how to correctly use chopsticks in order to adhere to Korea’s unique table manners?

Since Western eating culture commonly uses forks and knives, Oriental eating culture‘s dependence on spoons and chopsticks must feel unfamiliar and difficult for most Westerners. The spoons have a round-shaped tip and are used mainly for rice and soup. Since this is the same way you used to have your soup at home, using the spoon is not difficult. However, the chopsticks are rarely familiar to Westerners, looking like a pair of long, thin sticks.

In fact, even for Koreans it is not easy to correctly use chopsticks when picking up food from side dishes. You need to gently move the chopsticks between your fingers so as to not drop the food. 

Grab the sticks as if you were holding a pen, keeping the thick side up. Then put one stick on top of your middle finger while putting the other on top of your ring finger. The picture will give you a clearer idea of what this looks like. 

Now it‘s time to move the chopsticks to pick up your food. Keep your ring finger stationary and move your index finger and middle fingers only. The hand muscles used for this chopstick technique involve fine motor skills that are not used very often. For this reason, you may feel a bit awkward in the beginning, but after practicing the technique for a while, you will become a skilled chopsticks user just like many Koreans. Practice makes perfect!

To help you grasp correct chopstick technique, so-called “correction chopsticks” are sold. If you have a hard time improving, give these correction chopsticks a try and hopefully you’ll soon become a master of Korean table manners with perfect chopstick skills!