부먹 [ bumeok ], 찍먹 [ jjingmeok ], and 담먹 [ dammeok ]
If you live in Korea and enjoy eating Korean food with Koreans, you may have heard of these words – actually abbreviations.
There are three favorites of Koreanized-Chinese dishes by Koreans; jajangmyeon, jjamppong, and tangsuyuk. And when it comes to tangsuyuk (Sweet and sour pork), they always ask others how they eat it because the sauce is served separately. It is like Westerners asking “Which do you like, Coca-cola or Pepsi?”.
부 is from ‘부어서’ meaning ‘after pouring the sauce’, 찍 is from ‘찍어서’ meaning ‘dipping the sauce, 담 is from ‘담궈서’ meaning ‘after putting fully into the sauce’, and 먹 is from ‘먹다’ meaning ‘eating’. Everyone has a preferred way to have tangsuyuk since the texture is different depending on how to use the sauce.
ex)
A) 탕수육 어떻게 먹어? (How do you eat tangsuyuk?) B) 나는 부먹. (I pour the sauce onto the tangsuyuk.)
A) 부먹이야 찍먹이야? (Do you pour or dip in the sauce?) 난 담먹이야. (I eat the tangsuyuk after putting it fully in the sauce.)
