Back around Christmas 2013, I had a meal with my new Korean friend, H.
We ate Dong-Ji Porridge [동지죽]. Dongi-Ji is the Korean word for “Winter Solstice”. Here it was:
We ate Dong-Ji Porridge [동지죽]. Dongi-Ji is the Korean word for “Winter Solstice”. Here it was:
Dong-Ji Porridge / Bucheon, Korea / December 2013
The taste of the porridge was as thick as it looks. Kimchi and fresh beef are side dishes, with some kind of sweet juice….
That sign says “12 – 22”, referring to December 22nd, the day of the solstice. I write in January, a time when this dish is no longer served. (I took a break from writing here due to a lengthy sickness, now gone, and then starting Korean class, which has gone very well so far).
I wrote more about the solstice in post-168 (“Yuletide 2013”). I brought up the solstice issue in a conversation which included H., and he invited me to eat this. We met on Christmas Eve for it. (That is the sleepiest of evenings, generally, in the USA and Europe, but a very active one in Korea; Christmas is more of a “fun” day for Koreans.) The small restaurant, “Bon Juk” near Bucheon University, was packed; most of the people were eating this dish.
I wrote more about the solstice in post-168 (“Yuletide 2013”). I brought up the solstice issue in a conversation which included H., and he invited me to eat this. We met on Christmas Eve for it. (That is the sleepiest of evenings, generally, in the USA and Europe, but a very active one in Korea; Christmas is more of a “fun” day for Koreans.) The small restaurant, “Bon Juk” near Bucheon University, was packed; most of the people were eating this dish.
I was pleased to meet H., who is recently arrived back from some years in France. He sings the praises of France and Europe. I sympathize. Speaking of France, I speculated that the “Bon” in the restaurant’s name, “Bon Juk”, is an attempt to make a cross-lingual pun (Juk means “porridge” in Korean). The name sounds like “Bonjour”. H asked about this, but the hapless young woman behind the counter had no idea the origin of the name of the restaurant paying her salary.