Dosirak

File:Convenience Store LunchBox 01.jpg

{{Infobox Korean name

| title = Korean name

| hangul = {{lang|ko|도시락}}

| hanja =

| rr = dosirak

| mr = tosirak

| koreanipa = {{IPA|ko|to.ɕi.ɾak̚|}}

}}

Dosirak ({{Korean|hangul=도시락}}) refers to a packed meal, often for lunch. It usually consists of bap ({{lang|ko|밥}}, cooked rice) and several banchan (side dishes).{{Cite web|url=http://stdweb2.korean.go.kr/search/View.jsp?idx=416483|title=dosirak|website=Standard Korean Language Dictionary|publisher=National Institute of Korean Language|language=ko|script-title=ko:도시락|access-date=29 March 2017|archive-date=30 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330011958/http://stdweb2.korean.go.kr/search/View.jsp?idx=416483|url-status=dead}} The lunch boxes, also called dosirak or dosirak-tong (dosirak case), are typically plastic or thermo-steel containers with or without compartments or tiers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/what-the-world-eats-for-lunch/|title=What the world eats for lunch|date=24 September 2012|work=The Daily Meal|access-date=12 May 2017|via=Fox News}} Dosirak is often home-made, but is also sold in train stations, convenience stores,{{Cite news|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3015129&ref=mobile|title=Local specialties take train travel to a new level|last=Hong|first=Ji-yeon|date=17 February 2016|work=Korea JoongAng Daily|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20151015001192|title=Convenience stores vie for lunch box market|last=Park|first=Han-na|date=15 October 2015|work=The Korea Herald|access-date=12 May 2017}} and some restaurants.

Dosirak is derived from the Early Modern Korean word {{lang|ko|도슭}}.{{Wiktionary-inline|도시락}} Records dating to the 18th century attest to this as well as other variations such as {{lang|ko|밥고리}}, and {{lang|ko|밥동고리}}.{{Cite web |title=홈 > 소장 자료 (상세보기) - 『청구영언』 김천택 편, 영인편 {{!}} 국립한글박물관 NATIONAL HANGEUL MUSEUM |url=https://www.hangeul.go.kr/bbs/publicBbsView.do?bbs_id=4&bbs_no=33&curr_menu_cd=0106040000 |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.hangeul.go.kr}} The practice of packing food as done with dosirak is not a unique practice to Korean cuisine, and the modern dosirak can be seen as the Korean form of lunch boxes.

History

Unlike the more formal chanhap (찬합) enjoyed by the nobility, Joseon era peasants and soldiers would carry lunch in a simple woven bamboo or wood tumak (투막) box when expected to be outside the home during meal time. As Korea became more industrialized and the lunchboxes simplified, dosirak became the common definition of any lunchbox, used by the working classes as a quick and easy meal that could be eaten on the go.{{cite web |title=Chanhap |url=https://koreaheritage.org/collection/seal-box-hsyb9 |publisher=Korea Heritage Fund |access-date=9 March 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Dutta |first1=Debashree |title=Discover the Deliciousness of ‘Dosirak’: The Korean Lunch Box |url=https://rollingstoneindia.com/discover-the-deliciousness-of-dosirak-the-korean-lunch-box/|work=Rolling Stone |date=2 June 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Song |first1=Seung-hyun |title=Eat like Joseon royals and get it to go |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2678620 |work=The Korea Herald |date=27 August 2021}}

Following the Korean War and post-war occupation, raw materials became scarce and cheap tin lunchboxes made from scrap metal were used to contain a simple meal of rice, banchan, and some protein. Parents would send their children to school with a lunch in these simple, aluminum boxes without dividers, and the food contained would invariably become jumbled together as the student travelled to school. During the winter, students would leave their dosirak on top of the radiator to keep them warm until lunchtime.{{cite news |title=Dosirak, the Box of Love |url=https://www.jbpresscenter.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=201057 |work=전북대학교 신문방송사 |date=28 April 2017}}

As Korea became more prosperous, affluent workers and students could afford to go out to eat for lunch, the humble dosirak fell out of favor as the province of poor. When health conscious modern Koreans began to revisit packed lunches, they begain using the fancy divided Japanese style bento boxes to keep the meal's ingredients perfectly arranged and separate.{{cite web |last1=McPherson |first1=Joe |title=Dosirak – Just Don’t Call It a Bento Box! |url=https://zenkimchi.com/korean-food-101/kfc-7-dosirak-just-dont-call-it-bento_25/ |website=ZenKimchi |date=4 July 2006}}

The mixed up taste of old style aluminum dosirak started to come back in favor in the early 2000s as nostalgic comfort food, a memory of the innocence of youth. Modern pocha reintroduced the dish as a contrast to the sterile Japanese bento and fancy Michelin starred restaurants, shaken at the table to simulate the mixing that would have occurred in transit.{{cite web |title=DOSIRAK – THE KOREAN SHAKEN RICE VERSION! |url=https://www.wandercooks.com/korean-shaken-rice/ |publisher=Wandercooks |date=19 February 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Yzola |first1=Alana |title=This classic Korean lunch box is meant to be shaken |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/this-classic-korean-lunch-box-is-meant-to-be-shaken-2017-1 |publisher=Business Insider |date=4 January 2017}}

Varieties

Home-made dosirak is often packed in tiered lunch boxes that can separate bap (cooked rice) and banchan (side dishes).{{Cite news|url=https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/store-bought-lunch-is-stupid-and-wasteful|title=Store-Bought Lunch Is Stupid and Wasteful|last=Frizzell|first=Nell|date=24 July 2014|work=Munchies|access-date=12 May 2017|publisher=VICE}} The guk (soup) tier, if included, is usually kept warm by insulation.{{Cite news|url=https://food.good.is/articles/lunchboxes-around-the-world|title=5 Best Lunches In the World|last=Williams|first=Maxwell|date=30 March 2017|work=GOOD magazine|access-date=12 May 2017}} Plastic or thermo-steel containers are most common, but combinations of wood and lacquer, ceramics and bamboo, as well as other materials, are also used.{{Cite news|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3032859|title=Korean dining on view in London : Craft Week showcases fine objects used in eating and drinking|last=Kim|first=Hyung-eun|date=2 May 2017|work=Korea JoongAng Daily|access-date=12 May 2017}}

Yennal-dosirak ({{lang|ko|옛날 도시락}}; "old-time dosirak") consists of bap (rice), stir-fried kimchi, egg-washed and pan-fried sausages, fried eggs, and shredded gim (seaweed), typically packed in a rectangular lunchbox made of tinplate or German silver. It is shaken with the lid on, thereby mixing the ingredients prior to eating.

{{cite news |last1=Bolat |first1=Jeff |title=Oversigt over danske måltidskasser |url=https://www.maaltidskassen.com/ |access-date=18 January 2022}}

Gimbap-dosirak ({{lang|ko|김밥 도시락}}; "packed gimbap"), made with sliced gimbap (seaweed rolls), is often packed for picnics.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/07/03/156199639/thinking-outside-the-bento-box|title=Thinking Outside The Bento Box|last=Kayal|first=Michele|date=3 July 2012|work=NPR|access-date=12 May 2017}}