(Illustration by Hyemin Lee/Stripes Korea)

For many Koreans, seaweed soup (miyeokguk) is the iconic food that symbolizes a birthday. Seaweed soup is known as healthy food rich in in calcium and iodine in Korea, so traditionally, it has been served to mothers recuperating after giving birth. The custom of eating seaweed soup on birthdays means feeling gratitude to your mother who went through birth pangs by eating the same food that your mother had after childbirth. Approximately 90% of the world’s seaweed used for consumption comes from South Korea.

(Illustration by Stripes Korea)