Abstract
Changes in social, economical, and cultural environments affect the meal practices of children. The transmission of traditional Korean food culture is very important because it presents not only a well-balanced diet but also contributes to shaping identity. The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary school students' present meal practices and views, as well as demands on traditional food culture education to reflect future educational plans. Half of the students ate breakfast everyday and 72% ate a traditional Korean style breakfast. About 38% of the students participated 2-4 times per week in meal preparation and 34% participated in clean-up after the meal once a day. Although 6th graders had greater skills in basic cooking, they tended to be more passive upon applying their skills in daily meal practice. For traditional food culture education, 89% of the experienced and 86.2% of the inexperienced groups agreed on the necessity of traditional food culture education. Students attained traditional food culture knowledge through Silgwa, practical coursework within the curriculum, and by teachers leading classes. They were also educated by parents, mass media, and books outside of school. The preferred methods of class teaching were lecture and experiential learning. The preferred subjects to learn were 'cooking classes based on taste development', 'learning food ingredients through vegetable growing', 'traditional Korean food manners', and 'traditional Korean food culture and seasonal foods' as well as nutritional education. Fifth graders had more positive attitudes towards meal practices and traditional food culture education. Traditional Korean food culture and nutrition education should be integrated and developed into regular subject curricula to improve children's meal practice and inheritance of traditional food culture.