"dduk gook" news and stories

Like many other cultures, Koreans have many food traditions associated with holidays. On New Year's Day, Koreans always gather with their families and enjoy a steaming hot, nourishing bowl of dduk gook, Korean rice dumpling soup. (I call them rice "dumplings," though it is more often called rice "cake," but I've just found "cake" to be a very misleading term.)

I haven't quite figured out why we eat dduk gook on the first of the year. I'm sure there is some symbolism, as noodles in Chinese New Year represent a long life ahead, etc. I've asked my mother, and even she doesn't know the real meaning behind the dduk gook on New Year's Day. She only knows that, as do I now, we simply eat dduk gook. We've done this every year since as far back as I have a memory.

Every restaurant in LA's Koreatown serves dduk gook, but it's very easy to make at home. And of course, every family has their own little taste variations that have been taught from grandmother to mother to daughter.

"Sae-hae-bohk mahn-hee bah-duh-sae-yo!" (Happy New Year!)