Abstract
|
|
This paper presents the way Koreans have distinctively conceptualized rice throughout its history of agriculture. In the minds of Koreans, rice does not exist as a single object. There are three different identities within the single physical conceptual category of rice. They are ¡°byeo,¡± ¡°ssal,¡± and ¡°bap,¡± and each has its own cultural realm, function, and meaning. ¡°Byeo¡± as a plant is considered to exist in a world of nature controlled by Heaven and the gods. In the process of growing, it encourages a spirit of cooperation and communal way of living. After the harvest, ¡°ssal,¡± the grain from the ears of ¡°byeo¡± becomes such a commodity that ¡°ssal¡± has generated tension and conflict between the wealthy landlords and poor tenant cultivators. ¡°Bap,¡± another form of rice, exists within the realm of the family. The quality of ¡°bap¡± in its distribution on the everyday meal table corresponds with the structure of patriarchy. However, when families start to eat ¡°bap,¡± this normative structure can be turned upside down. Unlike in the English language and its associated cultures, the articulations of rice in Korean have been meticulously developed to describe rice in terms of growing, producing, and cooking, a differentiation that grew naturally out of a long history of rice cultivation. Even though Korea now witnesses its agricultural economy rapidly shrinking, the foundation of the Korean people¡¯s morality, values, and worldview are embedded in the culture of rice farming.
|
|
|
| Keywords:
|
rice culture, cultural identity, moral economy of rice, community spirit, rice as commodity, family structure
|
| About the author(s)
|
Hahm Hanhee (Ham, Han-hui) is Professor of Anthropology at Chonbuk National University. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1990. She has authored several books and articles, including A Cultural History of the Kitchen (2005) and ¡°Korean Culture Seen through Westerners¡¯ Eyes¡± (2003). E-mail: hanheeh@chonbuk.ac.kr.
|
|