[Korean Culture & Language] 'Eating' someone's mind


Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


If you’re interested in Korean culture, one of the first things that you would have noticed is that Koreans like to eat. To ask someone how they are doing, you ask “어떻게 지내?(How are you doing?),” but you can also ask “밥 먹었어?(Have you eaten yet?)”. 

Because food was scarce right after the Korean war, people used to ask each other if they have eaten, to show their concerns for the other’s wellbeing. Even though there’s an abundance of food today, they still ask the same question without thinking much of its meaning. 

What’s interesting is that Koreans don’t only eat food but ‘eat’ mind, ages, heat, blames, bribe, struggles, and etc. 

‘일체유심조’ is a famous Korean idiom, which means “everything depends on your mindset/mindset is everything”. However, the explanation of ‘일체유심조’ in the image below reads, “모든 것은 마음먹기에 달려있다고 여기는 사상”. It can sound creepy if translated literally: ”일체유심조 is a belief that everything depends on how someone eats their mind”.
What does “마음먹다(eating someone mind)” mean? It actually means “set someone’s mind,” or “make up someone’s mind”.

한자: 一切唯心造 (일체유심조)

Koreans also eat age (나이를 먹다), heat (더위를 먹다), blame (욕을 먹다), and bribe (뇌물을 먹다). Please keep reading to find out what they mean!

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