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Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time Podcast

Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time Podcast

By: Jiwon Yoon Ph.D.
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Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time explores Korean culture, history, society, food, books, politics, and everyday life through stories rich with context and heart. Hosted by writer and former media studies professor Jiwon Yoon, Ph.D., and developed with Jihyun Lee (Yao), the podcast brings research, warmth, and storytelling to the Korean stories behind the headlines. New listeners may want to start with the most recent episodes; Episodes 1–34 were early AI-narrated audio companions based on Jiwon’s own essays and research.

yoonjiwon.substack.comJiwon Yoon Social Sciences
Episodes
  • What Lunch Reveals When You Eat Alone

    What Lunch Reveals When You Eat Alone
    May 21 2026
    This week’s newsletter followed honbap (혼밥), or eating alone, through Korean popular culture: dramas, webtoons, variety shows, and coin karaoke booths.This companion episode takes the slower path.Instead of repeating the newsletter, I spend more time with two Korean books that have not yet been translated into English: 혼자 점심 먹는 사람을 위한 산문 (Prose for People Who Eat Lunch Alone) and 나만 잘되게 해주세요 (Please Let Me Be the One Who Makes It).Together, these books show what screens cannot always capture as easily: the inner texture of lunch, labor, family, small talk, exhaustion, and the strange relief of eating alone.So if the newsletter gives you the cultural map, this episode gives you the emotional close-up.Read the full newsletter essay here.💬 I’d really love to hear what this brought up for you. Come find me here and share your thoughts, stories, or questions.Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time is written and hosted by Jiwon Yoon. New episodes every week, alongside the newsletter.Korean Words and Phrases in This Episode안녕하세요, 반갑습니다 (Annyeonghaseyo, bangapseumnida / Hello, nice to meet you): A polite Korean greeting used at the beginning of the episode.혼밥 (honbap / eating alone): A shortened word from honja meokneun bap, meaning a meal eaten alone.혼자 (honja / alone): The Korean word for “alone.”밥 (bap / rice, meal): Literally rice, but often used more broadly to mean a meal.나만 잘되게 해주세요 (Naman jal doege haejuseyo / Please let only me do well): The title of Kang Bora’s book. In Korean, the phrase can sound selfish, funny, tired, and desperate all at once.도토리묵 (dotorimuk / acorn jelly): A soft, savory Korean food made from acorn starch.제주도 (Jejudo / Jeju Island): A volcanic island off Korea’s southern coast.한라산 (Hallasan / Mount Hallasan): The volcanic mountain at the center of Jeju Island.순대 (sundae / Korean blood sausage): A Korean sausage often made with glass noodles and blood, commonly eaten as street food.떡볶이 (tteokbokki / spicy rice cakes): A beloved Korean snack food made with chewy rice cakes in a spicy sauce.잡채 (japchae / stir-fried glass noodles): A Korean noodle dish often made with sweet potato starch noodles, vegetables, and sometimes meat.눈치 (nunchi / reading the room): A Korean social skill involving awareness of others’ moods, expectations, and unspoken signals.혼술 (honsul / drinking alone): A shortened word meaning drinking alcohol alone.혼술남녀 (Honsulnamnyeo / Drinking Solo): A Korean drama about people who drink alone, set around exam-prep and work culture.밥 살게 (bap salge / I’ll buy you a meal): A common Korean phrase that can mean gratitude, affection, apology, obligation, or an invitation to spend time together.식샤를 합시다 (Siksya-reul Hapsida / Let’s Eat): A Korean drama centered on food, appetite, and one-person households.나 혼자 산다 (Na Honja Sanda / I Live Alone): A long-running Korean reality-variety show about celebrities living alone.혼코노 (honkono / going to coin karaoke alone): Short for honja coin noraebang, meaning solo coin karaoke.혼자 코인노래방 (honja coin noraebang / solo coin karaoke): A coin-operated karaoke room used alone.노래방 (noraebang / karaoke room): A Korean karaoke room, usually rented by groups but now also used solo through coin karaoke booths.우리 (uri / we, our): A deeply important Korean word used to express belonging and shared identity.우리나라 (uri nara / our country): The Korean way of saying “my country,” literally “our country.”우리 엄마 (uri eomma / our mom): A common Korean way to say “my mom,” literally “our mom.”우리 남편 (uri nampyeon / our husband): A perfectly normal Korean way to say “my husband,” though it sounds very funny in English.오늘도 들어주셔서 감사합니다 (Oneuldo deureojusyeoseo gamsahamnida / Thank you for listening today, too): The closing thank-you line.다음 주에 만나요 (Daeum jue mannayo / See you next week): The closing farewell. Get full access to Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time at yoonjiwon.substack.com/subscribe
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    40 mins
  • 🎧Eating Alone While Being Seen: The Hidden Politics of Honbap

    🎧Eating Alone While Being Seen: The Hidden Politics of Honbap
    May 14 2026

    This week’s episode is a companion to my newsletter essay, not an audio version of it. Read the essay and listen to the episode together, and you’ll get the fuller picture.

    The newsletter tells the broader story of how honbap, eating alone in Korea, moved from quiet embarrassment to restaurants, map filters, one-person menus, and a visible part of modern Korean life.

    The podcast takes a slightly different route. Here, I slow down and ask what it feels like to eat alone in a culture where eating together has carried so much meaning. Why did one person at a table ever look awkward? When does eating alone become freedom? When does it become loneliness? And when is it simply lunch, which in Korea is almost never simply lunch?

    Read the full newsletter essay here.

    💬 I’d really love to hear what this brought up for you. Come find me here and share your thoughts, stories, or questions.

    Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time is written and hosted by Jiwon Yoon. New episodes every week, alongside the newsletter.

    Korean Words and Phrases in This Episode

    안녕하세요, 반갑습니다 (annyeonghaseyo, bangapseumnida)Hello, nice to meet you. A warm Korean greeting used at the beginning of the episode.

    혼밥 (honbap)Eating alone. A combination of honja (alone) and bap (meal/rice). Literally, something like “solo meal” or “solo rice.”

    혼자 (honja)Alone or by oneself.

    밥 (bap)Rice, but also meal. In Korean, bap often carries emotional meaning beyond food itself.

    밥 먹었어? (bap meogeosseo?)Did you eat? In Korean culture, this can also mean “Are you okay?” or “Are you taking care of yourself?”

    밥은 먹고 다녀? (babeun meokgo danyeo?)Are you eating these days? A caring, worried question often used when someone seems tired, busy, or not okay.

    뭐라도 먹어야지 (mworado meogeoyaji)You should eat something. A common Korean expression of care, especially when someone is struggling.

    부대찌개 (budae jjigae)A spicy Korean stew often shared at the table. It is sometimes translated as “army base stew” because of its postwar history and ingredients.

    전골 (jeongol)Korean hot pot or shared stew, usually cooked and eaten from a large pot at the table.

    반찬 (banchan)Korean side dishes served with a meal, often placed in the middle of the table and shared.

    눈치 (nunchi)Social radar, or the ability to read the room. It means sensing mood, expectations, and unspoken social cues.

    회식 (hoesik)A workplace dinner or after-work gathering, often involving coworkers, hierarchy, drinking, and social obligations.

    혼자 점심 먹는 사람을 위한 산문 (honja jeomsim meokneun sarameul wihan sanmun)Prose for Those Who Eat Lunch Alone. A 2024 Korean essay anthology by ten writers, with fifty short essays about lunch, solitude, work, food, and the inner life of eating alone.

    오늘도 들어주셔서 감사합니다 (oneuldo deureojusyeoseo gamsahamnida)Thank you for listening today.

    다음 주에 만나요 (daeum jue mannayo)See you next week.



    Get full access to Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time at yoonjiwon.substack.com/subscribe
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    32 mins
  • 🎧Before Korea Ate Alone

    🎧Before Korea Ate Alone
    May 7 2026
    This is the companion episode to this week’s newsletter, “Did You Eat?”: The Three Words That Explain Korean Culture.The newsletter opens the door. This episode stays in the kitchen a little longer.In the essay, I wrote about why the Korean question “밥 먹었어?” (bap meogeosseo?, “Did you eat?”) is never just about food. In this episode, I go deeper into the Korean table itself: how meals became a language of care, how families became sikgu or “eating mouths,” how children learned nunchi at the dinner table, and how even workplace dinners carried the old grammar of hierarchy, loyalty, and belonging.So no, this is not me simply reading the newsletter out loud. Think of it as the side dishes to the main essay. If you read and listen together, you get the whole table.In this episode, I talk about:* why Korean care often says “eat” before it says “I love you”* what bap really means beyond rice* why sikgu is such a revealing word for family* how the Korean dinner table became a place of training, affection, and surveillance* what bapsangmeori gyoyuk teaches children* how hoesik, the Korean workplace dinner, carried family-table hierarchy into the office* why the dream of three unrushed meals a day feels almost luxurious now* how breakfast, achim, gives us another clue about food and care in Korea* why the Korean table was never only furniture, but social structureNext week, we move into honbap: eating alone in a country where eating alone was once socially uncomfortable.💬 I’d really love to hear what this brought up for you. Come find me here and share your thoughts, stories, or questions.Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time is written and hosted by Jiwon Yoon. New episodes every week, alongside the newsletter.Korean Words and Phrases from This Episode안녕하세요, 반갑습니다 (annyeonghaseyo, bangapseumnida)Hello, nice to meet you / welcome.밥 먹었어? (bap meogeosseo?)Did you eat? Literally about food, but culturally often a way of asking, “Are you okay?” or “Are you taking care of yourself?”밥 (bap)Rice, but also meal in everyday Korean.사랑해 (saranghae)I love you.밥은 먹고 다녀? (babeun meokgo danyeo?)Are you eating these days? Often used to express concern.뭐라도 먹어야지 (mworado meogeoyaji)You should eat something.언제 밥 한번 먹자 (eonje bap hanbeon meokja)Let’s eat together sometime. Sometimes a real invitation, sometimes a gentle way of keeping a relationship alive.아침밥 (achim bap)Breakfast, literally “morning rice.”아침 (achim)Morning, and also breakfast.점심 (jeomsim)Lunch.저녁 (jeonyeok)Evening, and also dinner.김밥 (kimbap)Rice rolls wrapped in seaweed, often filled with vegetables, egg, meat, or other ingredients.식구 (sikgu)Family or household members, literally “eating mouths.” People who live together and share meals.가족 (gajok)Family, usually referring more directly to family through blood, marriage, or legal ties.파전 (pajeon)A savory Korean scallion pancake.밥상머리 교육 (bapsangmeori gyoyuk)Literally “education at the head of the dining table.” The manners, values, emotional cues, and social awareness children learn while eating with family.눈치 (nunchi)Social radar; the ability to read the room and sense what is happening without everything being said directly.왜 이렇게 안 먹어? (wae ireoke an meogeo?)Why are you eating so little?살쪘네 (saljjyeonne)You gained weight. A painfully common Korean table comment.이것도 먹어봐 (igeotdo meogeobwa)Try this too / eat this too.회식 (hoesik)A Korean workplace dinner or team meal, traditionally associated with hierarchy, bonding, drinking, and office loyalty.작은 회식 (jageun hoesik)A small or modest workplace dinner, reflecting newer, less intense forms of Korean office gathering.삼시세끼 (samsi sekki)Three meals a day. Also the title of a popular Korean variety show about cooking and eating three meals in a slower, rural setting.떡볶이 (tteokbokki)Spicy rice cakes, often eaten as street food or an after-school snack.조선 (Joseon)The Korean dynasty that lasted from 1392 to 1910.독상 (doksang)An individual tray or table setting for one person.혼밥 (honbap)Eating alone. A combination of honja (alone) and bap (meal/rice).먹방 (mukbang)Eating broadcast. A Korean-born online video genre where people eat on camera, often while interacting with viewers. Get full access to Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time at yoonjiwon.substack.com/subscribe
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    32 mins
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