[Let’s learn Korean culture] Don’t drink seaweed soup on an exam day

Korean people eat miyeokguk on their birthdays. However, there are also days when eating miyeokguk is definitely not allowed. It is a forbidden food on an exam day, because the saying “I ate miyeokguk” is an expression that people use when someone failed an exam (as opposed to using it in the sense that someone really ate miyeokguk). Because seaweed is slippery, if one eats slippery food, this is associated with the likelihood of sliding out of the exam. Korean foods that are on the opposite end of the slippery seaweed are Chapssalddeok (rice cakes with sweet bean paste) or Yeot (sweet, sticky candy). Therefore, to students who take an exam, people give Chapssalddeok or Yeot due to their symbolism of “sticking.