17 replies to this topic

[mariusj]

^ North Korea did just that too, but they still uses metal spoons and chopsticks.

Then whatever they did was not through enough.

[Yizheng]

Like others note, in past times in China there were metal chopsticks too, and different spoons. Silver ones were used in the Forbidden City, I think the poison detecting function might play a part in that.
Probably the reason for why Koreans developed such an overall preference for metal ones is all the different reasons people listed combined.
I ate with Chinese chopsticks, but then I got given a set of metal ones and spoon from Korea, and I always use the Korean ones now. I find them no problem to use. But I forget that Koreans consider it polite to eat rice with the spoon rather than chopsticks.
I think that we should be more attentive to how much resources we use, and metal chopsticks in this sense are better, because you get one set that lasts such a long time. It is more economical.

[MJL]

I think that we should be more attentive to how much resources we use, and metal chopsticks in this sense are better, because you get one set that lasts such a long time. It is more economical.

And environmentally friendly. The PRC introduced a tax in 2006 to discourage their use. In Japan people are encouraged to carry their own reuseable chopsticks, but the wooden ones are still excessively common, and in Korea too (not in most sit-down restaurants, but defenitely with delivered food).