For my culture project, I would like to examine the cultural influence of rice cakes (or pronounced "tteok" in Korean). When Korean culture is mentioned in the U.S, I realized that most of the topic of conversation revolves around kimchi and Kpop or Kdramas. However, given my limited knowledge of rice cakes, I noticed that it is food used on special occasions and is used in many traditions in my life (i.e. New Years, weddings, ceremonies). When rice cultivation spread during the Three Kingdoms era in 936 and entered an accelerated period of development since then. Rice cakes started out as a luxury dish, but it became more common as rice became a universal staple over time. During the Joseon dynasty, the different rice varieties increased from eight different kinds in 1392 to 198 different types by 1815. The popularity of rice cake declined when Japan took over Korea and the Japanese introduced Western style cakes, but tteok's main symbolic elements of health and a rich history that bleeds into Korean traditions and cultural practices are relevant to this day.
To understand this topic, I will have to look into vocabulary about the different rice cake varieties as well as more words related to cooking. I will ask my language partner about any resources she may have about the topic and request to make a lesson related to the history of rice cakes. I have already found a list of phrases used about rice cakes in a link below.
Related links and research about rice cakes:
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2872340
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/ricecake/ricecake.cfm?Subject=origin
http://gwangjunewsgic.com/food-drink/korean-food/stories-behind-korean-rice-cakes-tteok/
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-history-rice-cake-popularity-how-they-made-466291
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