From “dujjonku” to spring cabbage bibimbap

Choi HoonThe author is a professor at Hallym University.My wife proudly presented a vegetable shaped like a UFO. It was spring cabbage, known asbomdong. She added that bomdong bibimbap is now the latest trend. Trends are supposed to move quickly, but the pace of change in food culture today feels almost breathless. Until recently, it was the era of “dujjonku,” a Korean abbreviation for Dubai chewy cookies, which enjoyed a brief surge in popularity before quickly fading, yet it already seems to have ceded its place to bomdong bibimbap.Spring cabbage is displayed at a market in Seoul on March 4. [YONHAP]The rise of trends can be explained in psychology by the bandwagon effect. When people make choices, they treat the decisions of others as a form of information. The fact that many people choose something makes it appear more valuable. Another factor is FOMO, or the fear of missing out. This anxiety pushes people to try what others are experiencing, driven by the worry of being left behind or excluded from shared experiences.Yet as a trend spreads, its scarcity inevitably declines. Scarcity plays a key role in increasing perceived reward value in the brain. When supply expands rapidly to meet demand, that sense of scarcity disappears. In the online environment, where related information is constantly circulated and excessively exposed, even psychological scarcity diminishes. As scarcity falls, the trend naturally fades. In an era of rapid information flow and constant updates, it is unsurprising that trends now have shorter life spans than before.Even so, the swift shift from the sweet and stimulating appeal of dujjonku to the mild simplicity of bomdong bibimbap is noteworthy. I recently read a comment online: “After eating dujjonku, I felt sorry for my body, so I had bomdong bibimbap.” It sounds like a joke, but it reflects a deeper tendency. Humans seek to maintain balance between body and mind, a principle known as homeostasis. People cannot sustain one-sided experiences for long. While they may be drawn to intense stimulation, repeated exposure often leads them to seek lighter and more balanced alternatives.Humans are, at their core, beings that pursue equilibrium. This is not limited to food. In a world of rapid change and strong currents of influence, people will continue to move between extremes, much like shifting from dujjonku to bomdong bibimbap, as they create their own sense of balance in everyday life and adapt to changing preferences.This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.