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Post by jewel on Mar 31, 2014 19:35:46 GMT -5
Why do Koreans eat tofu after they get out of jail? What's the reason/history behind this tradition, does anyone know? I keep forgetting to ask my mom...
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Post by MTR on Apr 1, 2014 17:49:54 GMT -5
Probably because jail food is really bad and unhealthy so they have to replenish what they have lost during incarceration ,Mom would know !!!! ,hope she didn't do any time in the pokey .
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Post by sageuk on Apr 1, 2014 18:27:49 GMT -5
What color is tofu? White. What do we associate with white? Purity. A symbol of cleansing the soul. The tofu represents a new beginning: now that the criminal has paid their debt to society and is starting to begin their life again, they are trying to once again be as pure as the white tofu they consume.
White is also the symbol of death in East Asia (both literal and metaphorical), meaning the death of one life and the start of another, much like how Japanese brides wear white and how winter represents the end of a year.
There’s also a book called Dooboo (Korean for tofu) and in the synopsis of the book, this explanation is given: "A life behind the bars is said to be ‘eating boiled beans.’ A tofu has been released from beans but can never return to beans. Thus a feeding a tofu might mean a wish that the person would never go back to prison."
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Post by jewel on Apr 1, 2014 19:43:26 GMT -5
Probably because jail food is really bad and unhealthy so they have to replenish what they have lost during incarceration ,Mom would know !!!! ,hope she didn't do any time in the pokey . Hee hee, no, my mom has never been in the pokey... At least not that I know of...  Wow, thank you, sageuk, that is so interesting! My mom said it was to prevent going to jail again but she didn't know why it was tofu. Now I can tell her a Korean culture/tradition she doesn't know... |
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