‘White Soup’ on Korean Restaurant’s Menu Brings Controversy

A Korean restaurant in Toronto labeled the least spicy food as “white” and caused a hot online debate.

The controversy started from the Reddit’s board as a user uploaded a photo of the menu at the Korean restaurant. The menu has five levels of spiciness, from white (mildest), mild, medium, regular spicy to extra spicy.

And a debate heated up by the word “white” on the menu. Some users replied that it is biased by the stereotype that white people can’t handle spicy food.

As the issue went viral, visitors to Korean restaurants explained that it is not a racist term at all. They explained that the term indicates the color of broth, as most Korean foods – especially soups – use the base broth that’s mostly white, then add red chili paste (gochujang in Korean) or red pepper powder (gochugaru) to level up spiciness.

Original article by Soo-Yeon Oh
Translated by Narae Lee