Hangwa is made for health

Yakgwa (medicinal cookies)

Finger Yugwa (fried cookies)

One of the most important elements we should consider before deciding what to eat is health. It is for this reason that increasingly more Korean people today are turning their attention to hangwa, or, Korean traditional confectioneries. Hangwa are healthy snack foods made from agricultural products grown and harvested in Korea and are free of additives or chemicals detrimental to human health. It is typically made by frying formed pieces of dough made of powdered grain mixed with honey, molasses, sugar or other sweets or by boiling or mixing fruits or herbal roots with honey. In fact, making hangwa involves more time, skill and care than the preparation of other foods. Edible natural ingredients are used to make color and pine nuts and jujubes for decoration. Hangwa is known for their various tastes, flavors and colors. While the vast majority of Western confectioneries are made of wheat flour among other ingredients, these snacks of Korea are made using diverse healthy ingredients that have high nutritional value.

History of hangwa

One of the oldest records citing Korean confectioneries is “The Record of Garakguk” found in The Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms which says, “Confectionery was used for sacrificial offerings to the royal ancestors of King Suro.” Another record explains how for ancestral memorial ceremonies held in winter when fresh fruits were not available, Jogwa (artificial fruits) were made by mixing grain powder with honey. Historians believe that the Korean people established the tradition of consuming confectioneries on special state and family occasions in the Three Kingdoms Period; a record from this period cites that ingredients for confectioneries were included in the wedding gifts, King Sinmun of Unified Silla prepared for his new queen in 683. When Buddhism spread in the Goryeo Period, which prohibited killing animals and eating meat, meals began to be divided into main dishes, side dishes and desserts, increasing the consumption of hangwa. The widespread practice of tea drinking also led to further development of Korean confectioneries. The most popular confectionery in this period was yumilgwa, which is deep-fried rice cake glazed with honey, and in the following Joseon Period (1392-1910), new confectionary items began to appear, totaling 254 according to a historical record, and became essential items for various official court events. In the modern period, however, hangwa began to lose its popularity largely due to Japanese imperialism and the arrival of Western confectioneries. The new taste and flavor of Western confectioneries made of wheat flour, milk products, sugar and other ingredients, which had been relatively unknown in Korea until then, fascinated the Korean people, particularly after 1945, speeding the extinction of hangwa. It has only been recently that traditional Korean confectioneries have experienced a revival in Korea, not only as special foods for seasonal festivals, but also for daily consumption. Food experts are now rediscovering the unique charm and potential of hangwa to grow into a perfect partner of Korean traditional cuisine (hansik), which has sparked interest in people around the world for its wonderful taste and health benefits.

Maehwa Sanja, Yugwa, Dasik - the confectionery heritage of Korea

Yugwa Balls

Maehwa sanja, deep-fried honey-coated rice puffs featuring Korean apricot blossoms, is one of the most popular hangwa items. The colors of yugwa are more beautiful than other confectionery products, and making it requires more time and care. That is why yugwa is referred to as the “flower of hangwa.”

Freshly fried yugwa balls are white and in the shape of a silk cocoon. The fried balls are covered with grain syrup before being coated with puffed rice of all colors, pine pollen powder, sesame seeds (both black and yellow), and soybean or cinnamon powder, all of which combine to create various tastes and colors. Meanwhile, dasik (tea cake) is made of grain powder, medicinal stuffs, pollen and others that are highly nutritious and beneficial to health. After the cakes are formed, the dough is pressed with an elaborately patterned stamp, indicating the maker, as a final step. Since the Joseon period, hangwa have been essential food items prepared and consumed at milestone events like first birthday parties, marriages, memorial ceremonies, and 60th birthdays, among others

Hangwa as a fermented food

Korea has a long list of fermented foods, including kimchi and doenjang (soy bean sauce), and this list also contains a hangwa item, yugwa. The main ingredient of this confectionery is glutinous rice. The dough of the glutinous rice is prepared well beforehand and left to ferment, and is later shaped into a cake and fried. The fried cake is then coated with grain syrup and puffed rice.

Increasing the life span of hangwa

I have been committed to developing hangwa for the last 30 years, a commitment that has led to my strong desire to introduce this very tasty and healthy food to people of the world. As recently as 10 years ago, hangwa was a food that was impossible to circulate during the summer season, in particular, during the hot, humid rainy season, because it easily went bad. I even had to throw away a large stock of yugwa prepared to meet the high demand during the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday season as the products got moldy. This bitter experience led me to test a range of plastic bags used to pack lettuce in the markets. I found that the low quality bags used for lettuce, which contributed to early withering of the lettuce, were the same ones used to pack hangwa products. I decided to use new, better-quality bags to pack my hangwa products, and succeeded in significantly increasing their shelf life. However, I didn’t think this was enough, and proposed to the Korea Food Research Institute that it undertake formal research on increasing the shelf life of hangwa. The research resulted in new products developed by Singung Hangwa, which are rich in γ-oryzanol extracted from rice embryos that helps to significantly increase the shelf life of hangwa, even in the summer season.

Hangaone Museum, specialized in hangwa

The first thought that came into my mind after I had the honor of being designated in 2005 as a Master hangwa Baker by the Korean government (in the category of yugwa and yakgwa, No. 26) was that I should open an organization for research and education on Korean traditional confectioneries. My vision materialized with the opening of Hangaone Museum, specialized in hangwa, in April 2008. During the first year of the museum’s opening, free educational programs on hangwa were held for over 2,000 kindergarten and elementary school-age kids, helping them to understand the importance of eating healthy and the benefits of Korean traditional foods. I believed, and still do, that when there are cultural changes, there are changes in food preferences as well, and vice versa. Those in their 50s or older are the main consumers of hangwa products today, as they were introduced to the traditional confectioneries when they were young. It is only on traditional holidays such as Seol (Lunar New Year) or the Chuseok that general people show interest in hangwa products. I have always been worried about the possibility that hangwa will continue to move further away from the ordinary lives of the Korean people, which led me to educate young people about this great Korean heritage under the slogan, “Taste that links three to eighty year olds.”

Spreading hangwa in the global community

I have traveled to over 50 countries around the world to participate in food shows, giving global people the opportunity to taste Korean traditional confectioneries. My experiences convinced me that hangwa snacks, with their ingredients, making methods, shapes, tastes and symbolism, are truly great cultural assets of Korea. This belief inspired me to research and develop the sizes, shapes, colors and packaging of hangwa products. My efforts finally paid off when I was able to serve ginseng yugwa and honey yakgwa under my brand name, “Master Kim Gyu-heun’s Hangwa,” to the participants of the ASEM summit held in Seoul in 2000 and the G20 Summit held in Seoul in 2010. I am currently providing educational programs for those interested in hangwa as daily snacks or as food items for business purposes; for local high school students who have made hangwa an extracurricular activity; and for foreigners including US soldiers and their families who want to know more about Korean traditional confectioneries.


Hangwa-making demonstration at the Centre Culturel Coréen in Paris, France (2008)
I have been active, too, in organizing and participating in food shows overseas, including in Japan and France, as part of the effort to promote hangwa. I have held hangwa exhibitions in foreign countries under the motto, “Hangwa for the World,” and have given lectures and demonstrations in many countries, including one in Paris, France, in October 2008. Organized by the Centre Culturel Coréen in Paris, the event, a two-day lecture program focused on yugwa and dasik, was enthusiastically received by an audience of about 120, most of whom were French citizens including celebrities. I was particularly impressed by the response of the staff members of Le Cordon Bleu, who praised the hangwa gifts I gave them, saying: “The colors are so beautiful and elegant that I cannot eat them; I’ll keep them all my life,” and “hangwa is not simple food, it is restorative medicine.” The president of Le Cordon Bleu even asked if I would consider giving a special lecture for the students of his school.

It is generally agreed in Korea that hangwa forms a core part of the Korean cultural heritage but, unfortunately, it is little known in the rest of the world. That is why I strongly urge Korean people to operate systematic educational programs on hangwa for the young generation and support efforts for its academic and commercial development. I have a dream that one day the superb tastes, shapes and colors of Korean traditional confectioneries will charm the global community, fostering in them warm thoughts of Korea wherever enjoy hangwa.

Kim Gyu-heun Master Hangwa Baker Director, Hangaone Museum Representative Director, Singung Hangwa Hangaone Museum: http://www.hangaone.com          ※  The title of the contributor is as of the date when the text is contributed.     ※  The copyright for the images above is owned by the contributor and reproduction in any form without permission is prohibited.