MANNAM: Where are you going? Did you eat?

MANNAM: Where are you going? Did you eat?

On the street, if you meet your friend or people you know, Korean usually say "Where are you going?" or "Did you eat lunch?" I heard from a friend that a Korean spoke this way to a foreigner, and the respond was "Hey! It's not your business. Why do you ask?" And the Korean was very surprised. I mean, they both were.

Korean says these words to greet people they know. To speak frankly, they don’t care and don’t mind if you really ate lunch or not. Also the place where you go is not a matter to them. They just ask you this because this is their way of saying hello.

Then, let’s find out where and when this saying began. This saying comes from Korean history. When Korea had war in 1950’s many people died. They died because of weapons and bombs but also by starvation. They didn’t have enough food for the people to eat. Since thousands of people died because the lack of food, eating was a big issue in the daily schedule. So “Did you eat food?” became an expression for caring each other. It was an important matter because it depends on life and death.

 What about ‘where are you going?‘? In the old times of Korea, we had many mountains and hills so, if we want to move and do something, I was a big thing for the people. Naturally if someone meets a person who he knows on the road, that became a saying for care and interest. Also when we use this word, we can continue the conversation.

 If your friend says this, we can of course answer to what they ask. Or just answer, ”Near here to do something.” They won’t ask until you answer it. Koreans mind what you do, where you go and about what you eat. It is the way to express that they care for you. They don’t want to bug you or make you feel bad.

Now do you understand why people say this? If we explain about our acts, we can understand each other. No one is right or wrong. Everyone is right and must be respected. Although these saying are from sad history, we can remember the past and try not to happen again. MANNAM is a place where we respect and understand your culture and language. In MANNAM Korean class you can learn about not only words or just language, love and peace. Plus! History! Think if we didn’t have war in the past, we might have not used these words. Or maybe it could have been another word. We can’t change the past, but we can change and make the future! Join MANNAM!