The Curious Supersititon That Kept Koreans From Eating Chicken Wings

Southern. Chinese. Korean. Nashville. There are more kinds of fried chicken on this Earth than one mere human could ever hope to try in one proper sitting.

“Korean chicken wings are some of the best,” The Katchup co-host Elie Ayrouth remarked to fellow co-host Geoffrey Kutnick and guest Lawrence Longo on the most recent episode of the podcast.

It’s hard to argue with him, too. Famous for their ultra crispy double fried breading and juicy meat, Korean chicken wings are indeed some of the world’s best.

That’s why it’s that much more surprising to find out that there’s a superstition in the Korean culture that warns people against eating these double fried delicacies. 

According to Longo, “The Korean culture, 500 years ago, didn’t let their husbands eat the chicken wing.” 

Turns out, it’s true. 

Korea.net confirms that in the Korean culture, there’s a superstition that says a wife should not feed her husband chicken wings because then he will “fly away” and cheat on her. One site, KoreanClass101, suggests that this could be because the Korean word for wind is “바람” which, funny enough, is also Korean for “affair.” 

So if a chicken can be gone with the wind, apparently so could this fictional husband when he’s done eating said chicken. Or maybe it’s a coincidence?

Either way, find out more about this tidbit (gristle, if you will), L.A’s first Wing Fest, and everything else chicken wing by listening to the latest version of The Katchup, right here.