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Dining Etiquette

This document discusses dining etiquette practices around the world. It begins with a joke highlighting differences in how ordering food occurs based on culture, with Americans ordering first, French having long discussions first, British having men order after looking at menus, and Koreans having the eldest man order for everyone without discussion. The document then provides an overview of etiquette in Korea, Japan, Europe, and some other regions. In Korea, spoons are used for rice and soup while chopsticks are used for side dishes, and certain hierarchical practices like waiting for elders to eat first are followed. In Japan, chopsticks but not spoons are commonly used, and an order of eating dishes is practiced. European etiquette involves using utens

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105 views7 pages

Dining Etiquette

This document discusses dining etiquette practices around the world. It begins with a joke highlighting differences in how ordering food occurs based on culture, with Americans ordering first, French having long discussions first, British having men order after looking at menus, and Koreans having the eldest man order for everyone without discussion. The document then provides an overview of etiquette in Korea, Japan, Europe, and some other regions. In Korea, spoons are used for rice and soup while chopsticks are used for side dishes, and certain hierarchical practices like waiting for elders to eat first are followed. In Japan, chopsticks but not spoons are commonly used, and an order of eating dishes is practiced. European etiquette involves using utens

Uploaded by

gobeyondsky
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Dining Etiquette and the diversity around the world

20011652 Lee, Kyung Wahn


Prefae
Here is a joke. When ordering food, if women order first, they are assumed to be
American. If ordering takes place after a long discussion on the table, they are
presumed to be French. If men order first after looking through a menu, they are
thought to be British. If the eldest man on the table orders eerything without any
discussion what so eer, they may be !orean. "his may be just a joke, howeer,
this implies the difference and diersity in culture around the world. #ince the
ancient times, people around the world hae been fostering cultures of their own,
and cultures of contemporary time appear to hae lots in common while haing
lots in differences. $o matter where the culture came from, they are alued as
legacies that are neer to be intruded. In this era of globali%ation, world citi%ens
are learning to accept the differences in culture and showing more enthusiasm
oer the cultures of other nations.
&ack of cross'cultural awareness can result in misinterpretations which may
cause great offense to those who alue the eti(uette and such outcomes may end
in your reputation being tarnished and your business objecties impacted.
"he objectie of my writing here is to let us familiari%ed with the fundamentals of
dining eti(uette in order for us to present ourseles to the best of our ability and
ma)imi%e the potential of courtesy in the face of globali%ation. "he writing will be
discussing the eti(uette of !orea and *apan together with other intriguing rules of
eti(uette from other countries.
Korea
!oreans eat their rice and soup with a spoon, which was reportedly first inented
by the !oreans, and side dishes and the main course with chopsticks.
"here are certain eti(uettes you should follow. +ou should wait until the eldest
person presents and eats first. ,nlike *apanese, bowls are not to be hold by hands.
Hands should not be place on the table and hands are not to be used for tearing
food. It is also important that you wait for the eldest person to leae the table een
when you are finished with the food.
!oreans beliee the principle of drinking is to inigorate the relationship between
human beings therefore the manners hae been deeloped for a long period of
time.
When a cup is empty, you should ask the person if he or she wants more and
then fill it up for the person. When treated with drinks, you should return the faor
later. When the eldest person finishes drinking, eery one else should finish as
well. It is considered impolite to make people pour their own drinks. "hese seem a
little bit complicated but once you e)perience it, you would find it somewhat
amusing.
!"P"#
*apan is highly noted for its refined eti(uette. *apan is close to !orea in territorial
aspect but somewhat different in culture.
*apanese use chopsticks as well just like !orean but they do not use spoons.
,nlike !orea, there is a certain order when eating. "he first step is to sip a bit of
the soup. "hen the order you dig in does not matter. Howeer, do not keep on
eating the same dish until it is done. -oe on to a new one and rotate in circle.
&eae about the same portions left in each dish when you complete one rotation.
"hen you will finish all the dishes at the same time.
When you are eating noodle, slurp them straight up from the sauce bowl and
neer hesitate to make some noise. According to the tradition and in contrast to
some Western countries where people are often taught not to make slurping
noises when eating soup or noodles, making noise when eating noodle means it is
delicious. "hey are in a way trying to tell the chef how delicious the food is and
show their appreciation.
Euro$e
+ou should eat with your left hand and drink with your right hand. Any food that is
on your left is yours to eat and any glass that is on your right is yours to drink. #tart
with the knife, fork, or spoon that is farthest from your plate. "hen work your way
in, using one utensil for each course. "he salad fork is on your outermost left,
followed by your dinner fork. +our soup spoon is on your outermost right, followed
by your beerage spoon, salad knife and dinner knife. +our dessert spoon and fork
are aboe your plate or brought out with dessert. +ou should always rest forks,
knies, and spoons on the side of your plate or in the bowl. .ne difference to be
noticed here is that if you are following American style you do not use right hand
to hold forks, but if you are following /uropean style changing hands is always fine.
What others%
In France, it is always polite to have both of your hands visible. If one or more
of your hands are missing, people will assume you are playing with the legs of
the lady or gentleman next to you. In Iceland, it is considered rude to give your
host a gift when staying with them. In certain Arabic and Middle Eastern states
women are not supposed to eat with men. Dining will usually tae place in the
same room but the women and younger male children will eat in a separate
area. !hen eating a whole fish, according to European eti"uette, you must not
turn it over but rather remove the bones when you get to the middle, then
continue eating downwards. #his is because turning over the fish turns over the
fisherman$s boat. #his famous eti"uette is originated from %oland.
&niversal Etiquette
/en with thousands of different history, there are some uniersal rules or
eti(uettes that people around the world generally follow. +ou should not talk with
your mouth full. +ou need to chew with your mouth closed. 0eople dislike you
blowing nose at the dinner table. +ou need to e)cuse yourself to isit the restroom
and wash your hands before returning to the dining room. +ou should not use a
toothpick or apply makeup at the table.
E$ilogue
1ining eti(uette is not a law or a principle. It is just a rule that will just be frowned
upon when not followed. Howeer, we are liing in the world where national
borders are broken down and where sharing of culture takes place eeryday.
&earning to understand the culture and respect the eti(uette of there own is one of
the most important alues that we should possess as world citi%ens.

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