From sweet potato to mala, food metaphors flavor everyday Korean

Digital culture drives Korea’s food-inspired wordplay with younger and more educated groups leading the trend

Screen captures from MBC's entertainment programs "Oh Eun-young Report Marriage Hell" (top) and "Radio Star" feature the captions “sweet potato” and “cider,” used to describe frustrating and refreshing moments, respectively. (MBC)

The combination of steamed sweet potatoes and soda has long been a favorite among Koreans, rivaling the iconic duo of fried chicken and cold beer, known as "chimaek."

But the two are matched more in taste than in talk.

One can easily hear or read expressions such as “It feels like I’ve eaten a million sweet potatoes” in conversations with friends or across social media here.

It describes the emotional state one experiences when things do not go as planned, or communication with others feels blocked, much like struggling to swallow dry steamed sweet potatoes without water.

By contrast, cider commonly refers to someone who resolves a tense situation or boldly calls out rude behavior — a compliment likening their action to the refreshing burst of carbonation that cools a dry throat.

A recent survey by the National Institute of Korean Language found that 56.8 percent of 3,000 Koreans aged 15 to 70 nationwide associate the former with “inflexible individuals or stalled situations,” while nearly 71.5 percent link the latter to “remarks or actions that bring a burst of relief.”

Their expanded meanings are believed to have emerged in online drama forums during the 2010s, where many viewers likened dragging storylines to sweet potatoes and cathartic moments to cider.

The expressions now frequently appear in headlines and variety show captions, conveying opposing negative and positive sentiments.

Thriving food-inspired metaphors

Sweet potatoes and cider are just two items among the many expressions rooted in food and flavor.

“Yangnyeom,” which translates to “seasoning,” is often used to describe words or actions that are exaggerated or overly dramatized. Similarly, monosodium glutamate, or MSG, describes the practice of inflating stories to make them more entertaining, particularly on variety shows.

A scene from the KBS' talk show "Problem Child in House" shows comedian Jeong Hyeong-don referring to the term “MSG” during a discussion. (KBS)

A thumbnail from a short clip of the 2023 SBS drama "The Secret Romantic Guesthouse" on YouTube features the caption, “Honey drips from his eyes.” (SBS)

In romantic relationships, “kkul,” meaning honey, conveys affection between partners. Couples who look at each other lovingly are said to have “kkul” dripping from their eyes. The expression can also describe warmth and affection within families.

The honey metaphor is also widely used for something pleasantly easy yet rewarding, like a job or assignment that requires little effort but offers appealing benefits. In the military, for example, conscripts use the expression to describe a cushy position with light duties and relatively comfortable conditions.

Inspired by “sagol gomtang,” the traditional beef bone broth sagol has come to describe stories or trends that feel overused, echoing the repeated boiling required to make the rich soup.

Also, a television drama that mixes multiple genres and loses a clear sense of direction, or a clothing design that combines clashing styles, is often described as “jjamppong,” a spicy Korean-Chinese noodle soup brimming with diverse ingredients, from meat and seafood to vegetables.

Though originally from Chinese cuisine, “mala,” a seasoning known for its intense, tongue-numbing spiciness, has surged in popularity through dishes such as malatang and now frequently appears online as a metaphor for outspoken remarks or sensational scenes in films and dramas.

Beyond the foods themselves, even adjectives that describe their flavors have acquired new meanings. “Gosohada,” which refers to the nutty, savory taste of foods like tofu or peanuts, has long been employed to express the pleasure of seeing an arrogant person face a setback.

Why food?

Nam Kil-im, a professor of Korean language and literature at Yonsei University, points to basic human desires as a catalyst for the expansion of meanings in food-related terms.

“The essential purpose of creating new expressions is to generate a powerful rhetorical effect that existing language cannot readily express. Metaphors tied to fundamental human needs, including food, clothing and shelter, are seen as the most intuitive and universal tools,” Nam said.

“So this is a universal linguistic phenomenon that exists in other countries as well. But because it is tied to food, it can also be uniquely Korean. Words like ‘kkul’ are used in similar ways elsewhere, yet the different meanings of ‘gosohada’ are difficult to translate into English.”

The professor noted that the trend, at its core, speaks to a timeless human desire for linguistic play.

Online news headlines that use the term “mala” to describe media content built around sensational themes. (Naver)

“The instinct to communicate emotions through intuitive wordplay is fundamentally human. As far back as around 1980, the American neologism scholar John Algeo, while compiling a dictionary of new words, pointed to the playful nature of language as the primary reason humans create new expressions,” she said.

“For us as ‘Homo loquens et ludens,’ a phrase describing the human traits of speech and play, language is just as important for play as it is for serious purposes such as commerce, science or persuasion.”

While the use of food-related words with new meanings has existed in the past, their circulation has reached an unprecedented pace in the digital era, she added.

“With more than 95 percent of the population now using the internet and mobile devices and actively engaging in social media, people share their daily lives more openly. As private conversations once confined to speech are now exchanged through written messages across online spaces, new expressions spread more quickly,” she said.

Higher usage among young, educated groups

The NIKL survey found that the practice of using these food metaphors was more common among younger people and those with higher levels of education.

While 74.8 percent of respondents in their 20s and 69.1 percent in their 30s said they use the term sweet potato with an alternative meaning, the figures fell to 58.6 percent among those in their 40s and 48 percent among those in their 50s.

By education level, 62.9 percent of college graduates reported such usage, compared with 49 percent of high school graduates and 30.2 percent of middle school graduates.

Nam suggested that younger generations’ familiarity with digital culture helps explain the differences.

“Every linguistic shift begins with a single use and spreads from early adopters to their wider social circles. Today, people in their 20s are driving online communication and spearheading new cultural and linguistic trends,” she said.

“Those with higher levels of education tend to be more sensitive to shifts in language and more influential in spreading new forms of expression."