Koreanshave made tteok by steaming grain flours in siru, the traditionalsteamer, boiling or baking, depending on the type of the rice cake. From a longtime ago, they have enjoyed making and sharing with others different kinds oftteok for major milestones in their lives and important national holidays.

Historically,rice cake has been a key offering at various rituals in Korea. They includerites held for village gods wishing for peace and prosperity as well as similarrites held for house gods like sangdalgosa. Rice cake is also offered atgut rituals held by traditional shamans. In modern-day Korea, people distribute rice cakeamong others in their community when they open a business or move into a newplace.

More on rites and gutrituals;

*sangdalgosa: Rite peoplehold on an auspicious day in October for house gods. People offer newlyharvested grains and fruits and prepare sirutteok(steamed rice cake),sharing it with neighbors.

*byeolsingut:Large-scale gut ritual held by shamans in villages

*jinogwigut: Gut ritualaimed at cleansing the spirit of the deceased person so that he or she maycross over to the world of the dead. Also called ssitgimgut.

Tteok, in that sense, is more than just a tastydelicacy. Given that Koreans distributed rice cake among others in their community in every special moment oftheir lives, it can be considered an embodiment of sharing and generosity, aswell as a symbol of the unique Korean concept of jeong, or a deepconnection, and harmony.

It is also notablehow different types of rice cake were made for different occasions and how eachhad a story of its own. This makes tteok intangible cultural heritage thatpeople need to learn in order to fully understand the Korean culture.

It is unclear sincewhen Koreans made rice cake. However, archaeological findings show that Koreansate rice cake since the ancient times. Siru, the traditional steamer, has beenunearthed in historic sites of the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Siru can also beseen in the mural of fourth-century Anak Tomb No. 3 in South Hwanghae, NorthKorea.

Furthermore, a Chinesecharacter, 餠, that means rice cake can be found in Samguksagi, or ahistorical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea written in the 12th century.That people cooked rice cake can also be found in various historical documentslike the 13th-century literary collection of Donggukisanggukjip writtenby Lee Gyu-bo; and the 14th-century literary collection of Mokeunjibwritten by Lee Saek.

During the JoseonDynasty (1392-1910) that followed, agricultural technology developed and foodprocessing techniques also made strides. As a result, ingredients and recipesfor making rice cakes became much more diverse. In particular, cooks at royalpalaces and noble households were at the forefront of introducing new flavorsand types. New names of tteok and recipes can be found in various food, farmingor housekeeping

documents like Sangayorok; Jeungbosanrimkyungje;Gyuhapchongseo; and Eumsikdimibang.More than 200 different types of rice cake can be found in various historicaldocuments.

Different types ofrice cake are made and shared on different occasions. For instance, parentshave traditionally prepared baekseolgi(white steamed rice cake) fortheir baby’s 100th-day celebrations. The type is traditionallyconsidered pure and sacred and Korean parents have wished through the rice cakethat the baby will grow up innocent and bright. They also prepared patsusugyeongdan(sorghum ball cake made of red beans) to prevent bad luck in the baby’s life,based on the folklore that ghosts shun the colorred. A common traditional saying also encourages parents to share the 100th-dayrice cake with 100 households to ensure the baby of a long, healthy life.

In traditional Koreanweddings, it is customary that the bridegroom sends to the bride’s house beforethe wedding a wedding box, called ham in Korean. The bride’s family issupposed to place the box on top of a steamer that contains red ppatsiru(layered rice cake with red beans). This type of rice cake, also known as bongchitteokor bongchaetteok, stands for a wish for the harmony between twohouseholds and a blessing of the matrimony.

There is also goimtteok,which is prepared for both for a person’s 60th birthday celebration and jerye,the rite for remembering ancestors. It represents a wish for long, healthy lifeand commemorating ancestors’ virtues, respectively.

Koreans have alsotraditionally enjoyed tteokguk (soup made with white rice cake pieces) onthe New Year’s Day for a clean start to a New Year. And they prepared songpyeon(half-moon shaped rice cakes) with newly harvested grains when they pay theirrespects at their ancestors’ tombs during the Chuseok Holidays in the fall tothank them.

Songpyeon comes invarious kinds depending on the region, like potato-filled songpyeon and whiteradish-filled songpyeon. There was also a saying that women who make prettysongpyeon will marry fine husbands and pregnant women who make pretty songpyeonwill give birth to beautiful daughters.

It is alsointeresting to compare different types of rice cake in different regions andexplore their origins. Gangwon-do province, for example, has always had amplesupplies of potatoes and corns and thus the signature tteok from Gangwon are sirutteokmade of potato and corn. Jeju-do Island, on the other hand, was scarce of riceand instead had plenty of grains. As a result Jeju’s famous rice cakes – namelyomekitteok, bingtteok, chajopssaltteok – are made of redbeans, buckwheat and millet.

The introduction ofWestern cooking culture in the late 19th century brought many changes to the Koreancuisine and less Koreans are now making rice cake at homes. However, the numberof rice cake mills increased, which led to the distinction between sellers andbuyers of rice cake. Nonetheless, the tradition of sharing rice cake on specialoccasions is still very much a part of Korean lifestyle.

Therefore, the CulturalHeritage Administration believes Tteok making should be recognized as a nationalheritage in its own right for following reasons; ▲it has a long history and hasbeen passed down to present-day generation across the Korean peninsula; ▲thereare many records of rice cake making in historical documents dating back to theThree Kingdoms Period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668); ▲it can be further exploredacademically in various fields like food and nutrition or folklore; ▲different regions have developed their ownsignature rice cake based on their climate and environment; ▲and even atpresent, various entities like rice cake mills, tradition study groups andsimply average households are making rice cake, keeping the tradition very muchalive.

However, the CHAdecided it will not recognize a specific group or person in the designation, asit is a cultural tradition that all Koreans across the Korean peninsula arekeeping, as was the case with ‘kimchi making.’

*National Intangible Cultural Heritage items that do notrecognize specific group or person (Total: 12items):

Arirang (traditional folk song); Jeda(tea-making); Ssireum (Korean wrestling); Haenyeo (women divers); KimchiDamgeugi (Kimchi making); Jeyeom (traditional salt making); Ondol (underfloorheating system); Jang Damgeugi  (Korean sauce and paste making); TraditionalFishing-Eosal (fishing weir); Hwalssoki (traditional archery); Insam jaebae andyakyong munhwa(cultivation of Ginseng and its medicinal application); Makgeollibitki(Makgeolli making and sharing)

The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to continue to expandthe scope of protection through the designation of new national intangiblecultural properties so that our traditional culture can be passed down tofuture generations.

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