Thursday, March 28, 2024
FOOD&DRINK

What is Poo Bread? (동빵 Dongbbang)

OK I’ve seen it all now. I was walking through Jongak underground station in Seoul when I noticed  a shop selling 동빵 dongbbang: Poo Bread.

Yes, that’s what I said! This is not a joke. They have a website and everything.

동빵 dongbbang poo bread

WHAT IS POO BREAD?

So 동 dong refers to, well, “poo” (note the swirly dong/poo shape on the counter below and in the name logo) and 빵 bbang is bread.

Hence dongbbang = poo bread.

The bread isn’t actually made of poo (that would be weird). Rather it’s a kind of waffle similar to 붕어빵 Bungeoppang. But bungeoppang are made in the shape of a fish and filled with sweet red bean paste available on streets stalls everywhere.

They are served warm so perfect on a cold winter’s day.

dongbbang poo bread shop

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But Dongbbang are patented shapes based on the dongbbang characters (below). You can see the cute swirly shape hairdo recognised as poo in Korea (and Japan and possibly other countries too!)

동빵 dongbbang poo bread

Just in case you didn’t guess, the dong is on the head of the characters on the left 🙂

When you buy your dongbbang you can choose from various fillings including red bean paste, chocolate, vanilla, corn, cheese, and strawberry. There’s also coffee to go – Americano, cappuccino, latte, caffe mocha, or a caramel Macchiato.

But if you are not interested in a sweet waffle, they also sell 동빵 친구 dong bang chingu – friends of Dongbbang – which include various types of spicy meats and sausages on sticks…

WHY IS IT CALLED POO BREAD?

So when I first saw this shop I wondered WHY ON EARTH would they call their product dongbbang?! Does it sound nice in Korean?

I became fascinated with this idea of dongbbang and how this concept can work in Korea. I did see some people walking past the shop and giggling at the large dong on the counter and the dong shaped waffles on sale.

But they were amused, they weren’t disgusted.

I tried to imagine the same scenario in Britain.

Poo bread anyone?

No?

Didn’t think so. So why is dongbbang tempting to buy? I decided to investigate a little further.

dongbbang poo bread

First a note on pronunciation

I’m told that in Korean, the two words dong 동 and bang 빵 sound CUTE together.

But here’s the twist. The actual spelling for dong (poo) is 똥 not 동. This changes the pronunciation and the nuance of the word. The word 똥 with the double d consonant (ssang-digeut) is harsh and you need to give it some umph when you pronounce it. Whereas single d consonant  dong 동 is softer.

Listen to the different Korean sounds here. But within the context of the curly-wurly dong poo shape, dong (동) is recognized as dong (똥) but not in a nasty way because the pronunciation and spelling are different. (Is any of this MAKING SENSE? 😕 )

So dong sounds cute in Korean. It doesn’t seem to be a rude, uncomfortable, or embarrassing word to say even with the correct spelling. (Although probably not appropriate in formal situations ..)

I could only think of the word poo in the translation as I think it is the least offensive. And there are other meanings for poo in English. We have Winnie the Pooh for example. But he is shaped like a bear.

All other words –  ‘sh*t’, ‘crap’, excrement, turd, or the hospital friendly ‘faeces’, or ‘stool’ – all sound icky to me.  🙁  I could use the word ‘plop‘, but I would feel silly and about 4 years old!

Another problem is the shape that represents the concept of dong/poo.

The shape of dong is like a swirly soft chocolate ice-cream. The curly shape is inoffensive- even charming. And there are good connotations attached to dong. Dreaming of doing a dong is very good luck in Korea.

If you dream of doing a dong, the very next morning you should RUSH to buy a lottery ticket. This is a lucky dream, so it’s not unusual to see gold coloured dong key rings on sale.

On the other hand, consider the shape of a British poo. (I can’t bring myself to include a picture so if you need an image please refer to Google 😳) The only place you would buy something in this shape is in a joke shop.

No, not cute at all.

And the only connotations I can think of are negative – like stepping on a dog poo. So I could never eat poo bread but I can eat dong bang with no trouble at all.

So the play on the sounds dong and bang and the cute recognisable shape of the curly dong make the snack tempting.  It stands out in an increasingly competitive baked goods market. And it definitely stands out – if they had been regularly shaped waffles, I wouldn’t have noticed the shop or written this post at all!

You can see some nice close up pics of the various waffles and interior of the shop on this Korean blog. Or go to the Dongbang website or check out the #동빵 on Instagram. Bon appetit. 🙂

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One thought on “What is Poo Bread? (동빵 Dongbbang)

  • OH MY, I laughed so hard reading this article. Esp. the part about dreams about poo being good luck. If I dream of poo tonight, it is all your fault.

    Reply

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