🇰🇷 Why Do Koreans Always Ask “Did You Eat?” 🍚🥢

👐 Hello

Hi everyone~ 😊
It’s already halfway through 2025—time flies!
Have you been eating well and taking care of yourselves?

…Wait, why am I suddenly asking if you’ve eaten? 😅

Well, in Korea, this is actually a super common way to say hello.
Instead of asking “How are you?”, people might say:
“Did you eat?” (“밥 먹었어요?”)

🤔 Are they really asking about food?

A lot of Korean learners get confused at first.

“Huh? Why are they asking if I’ve eaten?”
“I haven’t… what should I say?”

But here’s the thing —
they’re not really asking about your meal.
It’s just a polite, friendly greeting,
kind of like saying “How are you?” in English.

So don’t worry about giving a full answer.
You can just smile and say something like,
“Yes, yes~” and move on 😊

💡 Korean Language Tip

• “밥 먹었어요?” = A polite, caring greeting!
  • It’s not about food — it’s a way to show kindness and check in on someone.

• Other similar greetings include:
  • “How have you been?” (잘 지냈어요?)
  • “How’s everything lately?” (요즘 어때요?)

📺 Watch the video!

In this short and fun clip,
we explain what this phrase really means
and how to respond naturally in Korean.

👇 Check it out here:

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