I use chopsticks to eat my rice all the time!

I read this on another page.

I guess I am just the rude American.

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I had never heard that. Every Korean I have ever met eats rice with chopsticks. That is one of the reasons rice is so sticky. I do know that Koreans get a little quesy watching the vietnameese eat rice with their hands.

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Just my humble opinion!

I second that. I have ate with various Korean social classes and we have used the chop sticks?

Eating almost anything with your hands is considered ill mannered by older gen. I have seen a variation between the younger gen.

I usually see people using a combination of their spoon and chopsticks. When the rice is mixed with other vegetables and side dishes, sometimes using the spoon is easier. I've had some Koreans say to me "Why don't you use your spoon?", but I figured it was only because they thought it was hard for me to eat with the chopsticks since I was eating slowly. Another thing I've noticed here is that if you eat slowly, Korean people often think that you're not enjoying the food. Personally, I enjoy food more when I eat it slowly, so I always use chopsticks to eat my rice. I'll ask someone about it, but I never had the impression that it was rude. Vietnamese eat rice with their hands? I never knew that.

Huh? Wha? No way!
I eat rice with chopsticks all the time. Sometimes I lift up the bowl, too, like a Chinese person. Hmm...maybe that's why.
I find it easier using chopsticks, especially with sticky rice. If you use a spoon the rice sticks all over it. Then you end up raking it off with your teeth because you can't just dip the spoon into a stew or else the stuck rice will get all in there.

Update: I asked around the work place...to all the Korean co-workers; both younger and older generations. No one has ever heard of that and they all say they do it, too.
However, one of my wise buddies did a search on Naver...it turns out there is such a thing. The closest he and I could translate is that 'using chop sticks to scoop and eat rice is considered rude because it gives the impression that person is not enjoying his/her meal'. Let me (try to) elaborate... people can scoop rice in loads with a spoon and really look like they're enjoying their meals, giving the impression to the host of how great the food is. Using chopsticks gives the impression that one is dragging time by eating little bits at a time; not enjoying the meal and sending a bad message to the host.

Something like that...It's difficult to explain.

For the record it has nothing to do with any comparisons to other cultures and the way they eat.

Another reason I like the Korean culture being noisy when eating soup or noddles is considered to be a compliment to the food. Never have been able to do the required belch. Each culture has it's own customs and it is something that should be taught especially to the younger enlisted befor they are unleashed so to speak.

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Just my humble opinion!

Here are some other chopstick rules that I read on the site.

• Eating rice while holding your rice bowl is not a noble way to eat. This with using a chopstick surely will make you look cheap.
• Don't lift dishes up from the table. But don't feel obligated and end up having stomach problems.
• Don't leave your chopsticks sticking into a dish. A spoon sticking downright into the rice bowl is also not a good sign, since that's how Koreans set up the dishes for their passed ancestors.

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