In Korea, the largest meal of the day is dinner served between 6 and 8 p.m. Since Koreans eat with chopsticks, do not be afraid if your skills with them are not up to the same level. They will appreciate your attempts.
Koreans prefer to entertain guests in restaurants or coffee shops and rarely at their homes. If you are invited for a meal at their home, understand that this is a great honor and following these rules are essential in creating a better friendship with your host. When entering their home, take off your shoes immediately and make sure the toes are pointed away from the building. Unlike in America, where a tour of the home can be requested, do not make such a request in a Korean home. You should not wander around the home or look into rooms such as the kitchen as this is seen as very rude.
You may be invited out after business hours to bar, dinner with a lot of alcohol, or a Kisaeng house. Be careful when you are drinking with your Korean hosts. Remember that all promises and direct opinions will be taken seriously.
When invited out for a meal, the person who does the inviting is expected to pay. When the bill comes, good-natured arguments over who will pay for the meal is to be expected. At a meal, it is polite for the younger member to pay for the older.
Koreans use chopsticks for solid foods and a porcelain spoon for soup. When you are finished your meal, place your chopsticks on the table or the on the chopstick rest. Never – under any circumstance – place them parallel on top of the bowl. This is seen as a sign of bad luck. You should also never leave your chopsticks sticking out of your rice bowl as it is insulting since that is how offerings are made to ancestors.
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