Prejudice

 

 

 

 

 

 

" The possibilities for what seemed to be already known."

 

 

 

I ate gopchang-gui(grilled beef tripe) last weekend. For the first time in a decade. When I was a child, I ate gopchang bokkeum(stir-fried tripe) and got a stomachache. I have not eaten it since. When I walked through a restaurant selling gopchang, it smelled unpleasant. When I see people who like gopchang, I think ‘why do they like it so much? there are many delicious foods than gopchang in the world!' Yes, I didn’t like gopchang.

 

 

 

So, I haven't even thought about eating gopchang. Because I thought it was a taste I didn't like. I like sweet or sour food, or exotic food with spices. I cook those foods and meet my friends at restaurant that sells them. I rarely eat foods that I don't like. It deviates from the tastes of ordinary Koreans, but I just thought I had a slightly different taste. But gopchang-gui that I ate that day didn't smell unpleasant. Why didn't it smell? I was curious to find out that beef tripe doesn't smell. The gopchang bokkeum that caused stomach ache was pork. The beef tripe was soft and chewy and even delicious. Maybe it was because I dipped it in a sour sauce. The idea that Gopchang smells and tastes bad was the prejudice I had. When I ate it, I could know why many people like gopchang.

 

 

 

After eating gopchang gui, I thought about 'experience and prejudice'. People think based on their own experience. In life, there are things you like and things you don’t like. It is natural for an individual to like something and dislike something. Then, where does the things that you like or dislike come from? It could come from a particular incident or just for no particular reason. Think of something you don't like. And think about why you don't like it. Sometimes it can be cut by my experience.

 

 

 

As trivial experiences and thoughts pile up, they form a person's lifestyle and values. The more candles on the birthday cake, the clearer they become. It helps in choosing and judging something. However, the judgment made by experience does not always have a positive effect. Later people with experience will say "This is what it's going to be. I've been through something similar to this, so I know," they make a guess. You fear failure more than before, even if you haven't tried. If you try it, it might be nothing. The fact that your usual thoughts are changing is an interesting part of life. So open up your mind on what you have not experienced and even on the things that you already think you have experienced.