[New Word Dictionary] Pyeondojok - A Meal Between Convenience and Loneliness

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Kim Isul (pseudonym, 24), a job seeker, stamps her attendance every morning at a convenience store near a TOEIC academy in Jongno, Seoul, instead of eating the lunchbox her mother prepares. Sometimes she buys toast nearby, but Kim’s choice for a hearty breakfast is a convenience store lunchbox. “It was a burden for my mother to wake up early and prepare lunchboxes in the morning, and these days, I often visit convenience stores because I can get a high-quality meal at half the cost of eating at a restaurant,” Kim explained. The main menu of convenience stores, once represented by triangular kimbap and cup noodles, has long shifted to lunchboxes. The convenience store lunchbox market, which was worth 77.9 billion KRW in 2013, grew to 500 billion KRW last year. According to the market research firm Open Survey’s ‘Convenience Store Trend Report 2020,’ Koreans visit convenience stores an average of 2.6 times per week, and more than half of them, 65.9%, purchase groceries. Moreover, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), sales of convenience store lunchboxes have significantly increased, with the average sales of the four major convenience store chains rising about 7% year-on-year.

The term “Pyeondojok” refers to people who solve their meals with convenience store lunchboxes, a word that has become common due to the increase in single-person households and the spread of solo dining culture. According to the single-person household trend survey released by Statistics Korea, the number of single-person households exceeded 6.039 million in 2019, an increase of 250,000 households compared to the previous year. In addition, as demand for safe meals at home instead of dining out has increased due to COVID-19, convenience store lunchboxes are being sold even more. “When an old man eats alone / Something wells up inside... / The sacredness of eating that fills the body with a lifetime / The warm life attached to all the cold rice in this world,” poet Hwang Jiwoo named the solo dining scene of an elderly man as a ‘sacred meal.’ While many people miss the family who used to gather closely and eat together, the increase of Pyeondojok metaphorically shows a somewhat sad aspect of our society.

Example

A: I’m a bit hungry since I have class early in the morning. Hey, want to go to the convenience store together?
B: I’m on a diet. If I eat ramen or triangular kimbap, I’ll gain weight.
A: You don’t know anything. Convenience stores have salad lunchboxes and chicken breast lunchboxes too. You have to eat to keep your brain working.
B: Oh really? Okay, okay. You’re a true Pyeondojok, huh?
A: Living alone is tough without a convenience store. Hey, there’s not much time. Let’s go quickly!

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.