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Why do people eat tofu after prison in Korea?

(updated 2021) From Korean historical dramas to contemporary films, when characters are released from prison they are given tofu. But why do they have to eat tofu after prison?

In this post I’ll briefly cover the practical and symbolic reasons behind this custom. And take a look at how tofu scenes are used for dramatic effect in Korean dramas and films. 

Since when did people eat tofu after prison? 

First of all, let’s consider when this custom first started. In the historical drama Flower in Prison (MBC, 2016) I spotted a tofu scene. The story is set in a 16th century Joseon prison during the reign of King Myeongjong (r.1545-1567). So I had my eyes peeled for tofu. And I was not disappointed. 

The young female protagonist is brought up in the prison. It’s a busy place and full off characters who teach her life lessons. From thieves who entertain her by revealing how to pickpocket, to the old scholar who gives her academic education through the prison bars.

It’s a great drama. Although I imagine prison life was not so much fun. More like very cold winters and sloppy gruel. Still, we see two characters munching on big slabs of fresh white tofu when they are released from the prison. (See below

Actually, tofu is thought to have been introduced to Korea around the end of the Goryeo period (918-1392) It was used in royal cuisine, but ordinary families made tofu at home too. So it’s feasible that the custom started way back in the Joseon dynasty. 

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Why do people in Korea eat tofu after prison?

 

Why tofu?

The practical reason for eating tofu was to treat malnutrition.

Prison food was not nutritious. Even the ordinary people of Joseon often struggled through droughts and famines. And lack of rice became such a problem at times that the king had to ban rice from being used to make the fermented rice wine Makgeolli – since there wasn’t enough rice to eat as it was. Rice or barley gruel was the food for peasants. And surely the prisoners diet was the same or worse!

Later, patriots who were imprisoned during the Japanese occupation in the early 20th century were not fed well either.

So when they came out of prison they were suffering from malnutrition. Although hungry, they couldn’t eat too much. So they were given tofu because it is full of protein and is soft on the tummy and easy to digest.

Symbolism of Tofu 

These days prison inmates in Korea don’t suffer from malnutrition! Not only are they served rice mixed with various grains, beans, and barley, they are also allowed to buy kimchi and meat with their own money. So giving tofu is not necessary any more. But the tradition lives on as a symbolic gesture. And there are several symbolic meanings based on the colour white and composition of tofu. 

 

Symbolism: Turning over a new leaf

A symbolic reason for giving tofu comes from the fact that every batch of tofu tastes a bit different.

According to this Korean food columnist  (Korean) tofu is very hard to make and so the tofu never has the exact same flavour. Every batch is different. And so eating tofu after prison symbolises not repeating a bad deed. In other words, ‘turning over a new leaf’.

A similar idea is that once soybeans have been made into tofu, they can’t change back into beans. So tofu represents starting a new life and not reverting back to old ways which will send you back to prison.

The colour white also represents purity. 

Tofu in drama 

So tofu has the symbolic meaning of changing your life for the better and turning away from crime. But in drama, it can be used for dramatic effect to show the mind or personality of the characters. Here’s a scene from one of my favourite dramas All About Eve (MBC, 2000) which stars Jang Dong-gun and Chae Rim.

This is the gangster In Soo who is met by his gang subordinates when he comes out of prison. They greet him with tofu. All good so far. But he is a gangster…

And in this case, he has no intention of turning over a new leaf. And so the tofu seems to represent a kind of good luck charm to protect him from getting caught again!

in a scene from All About Eve, a character can eat tofu after prison

Sometimes, NOT being given tofu after prison can speak volumes too!

For instance, when a character comes out of prison, someone should be waiting for them with a bag of fresh tofu. But if there is no one there, and there’s no tofu, that’s bad. Especially when they see other family members waiting expectantly at the prison gates with bags of the soybean product for their loved ones.

This is what happens to Kim Bum’s character in the SBS drama, Dream. So he goes over to a lady selling tofu on the side of the street to buy some for himself. This scene emphasises how alone he is. 

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5 reasons to eat savoury pancakes on a rainy day in Korea

Home LANGUAGE&CULTURE Why do people eat tofu after prison in Korea?
Soybeans as a euphemism for ‘prison’ 

It’s not just tofu that is associated with prison. Soybeans themselves are too.

If someone asked me,  ‘do you want some rice with beans?‘  (콩밥 먹고 십어? kongbap meok go ship-o?) I’d say, ‘Yes, please’.

But this phrase actually means do you want to go to prison?

……Oh, in that case, no thank you.

That’s because after the colonial period, beans were added to rice in Korean prisons to make the food more nutritious. And so in Korea, rice cooked with beans became associated with prison.

In the past, cooked barley was also a cheaper replacement for white rice. 

But these days the situation has completely turned around. Attitudes have changed and health conscious families are loving the beans and barley rice. So beans are not associated with poverty anymore but rather with healthy living. 

Tofu as a sinister premonition 

And finally, here’s Lee Young-ae starring in the film Lady Vengeance directed by Park Chan-wook (Old Boy) 

Lee Young Ae in Lady Vengeance. She should eat tofu after prison

In this film, tofu is used to reveal the state of the protagonist’s mind.

scene from the Korean film Lady Vengeance. Lee Young Ae's character should eat tofu after prison

She has been in prison for 13 years. And when she gets out, she is offered a plate of tofu.

Korean Film: Lady Vengeance

But she throws the tofu on the ground suggesting that she is not interested in ‘rehabilitation’

Lee Young Ae's character refuses to eat tofu after prison 

So there we have it. 

When I first moved to Korea, a little tofu truck would pull up in our apartment and blow his ‘special tofu horn’ to let the residents know that he had arrived. Then I would rush down and buy fresh tofu from him. It was so much better than tofu in the supermarket. Little did I know that tofu is not just a cheap and healthy food, it’s full of symbolic meaning too. 

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