Hangwa

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title: "Hangwa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hangwa"] description: "Term for Korean confectionery" topic_path: "general/hangwa" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangwa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Term for Korean confectionery ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox food"]

Field	Value
name	Hangwa
image	Hangwa.jpg
caption	Various ko
country	Korea
national_cuisine	Korean cuisine
type	Confectionery
module	{{Infobox Korean name/auto
child	yes
hangul	한과
hanja	韓菓
ipa
othername1	Other names
hangul1	조과; 과정류
hanja1	造果; 果飣類
ipa1	;
::

| name = Hangwa | image = Hangwa.jpg | caption = Various ko | alternate_name = | country = Korea | region = | national_cuisine = Korean cuisine | creator = | year = | mintime = | maxtime = | type = Confectionery | course = | served = | main_ingredient = | minor_ingredient = | variations = | serving_size = | calories = | protein = | fat = | carbohydrate = | glycemic_index = | similar_dish = | other = | module = {{Infobox Korean name/auto | child = yes | hangul = 한과 | hanja = 韓菓 | ipa = | othername1 = Other names | hangul1 = 조과; 과정류 | hanja1 = 造果; 果飣類 | ipa1 = ; ko () is a general term for traditional Korean confections. With tteok (rice cakes), ko forms the sweet food category in Korean cuisine. Common ingredients of ko include grain flour, fruits and roots, sweet ingredients such as honey and yeot, and spices such as cinnamon and ginger.

Names

ko () translates to "Korean confectionery" referring to traditional confections contrasting with yanggwa (), which identifies "Western confectionery". In the past ko was called jogwa () which means "artificial fruit" or gwajeongnyu () as meaning "fruit food category".

History

The history of ko goes back to the era of the three kingdoms (57 BCE ‒ 668 CE), when various types of confections were consumed by royals during festivities, national holidays or in court, according to the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms.

Following the two Buddhist dynasties, Unified Silla in the era of two kingdoms (698–926) and Goryeo (936‒1392), the cultivation of crops and consumption of confections increased drastically as the Buddhist diets forbade meat. Confections were offered in Goryeo's national feasts, rites, ceremonies, and banquets, including the two Buddhist festivals, the Lotus Lantern Festival and the Festival of the Eight Vows. Prevailing tea ceremonies also required more types of confections.

Concerns regarding the increasingly excessive consumption of confections that have large amounts of oil, grain, and honey have consequently lead to several regulations throughout the course of its history. In 1117, King Sukjong restricted the extravagant usage of deep-fried grain confections. In 1192, deep-fried grain confections were mandated to be replaced with fruits and in 1353, a total ban on deep-fried grain confections was issued.

Restrictions continued in the Joseon (1392‒1897), according to Comprehensive Collection of the National Codes that recorded that the use of deep-fried grain confections was restricted solely for rites, weddings, and toasts to longevity. Commoners caught eating them on occasions other than that were subjected to monetary fines or corporal punishment.

Categories

ko can be classified into eight main categories, namely dasik (tea food), gwapyeon (fruit jelly), jeonggwa (fruit jerky), suksil-gwa, yeot-gangjeong, yugwa, yumil-gwa, and candies.

• Candies – Traditional Korean candies can be eaten as they are, or used as sweetening ingredients in other types of ko. Dang (; "candy") or Dangryu (; "candy category") refers to hard and sweet confection. It can be made of crystallized sugar, or saccharified starch. Yeot is a traditional sweet in either liquid or solid form, as a syrup, taffy, or candy. It is made with grains such rice, glutinous rice, glutinous sorghum, corn, sweet potatoes, by saccharifying them using barley malt.
• Dasik, literally "tea food", is a bite-size sweet that is normally accompanied by tea. It is made by pressing honied powder into a decorative mold. Typical ingredients include rice flour, pine pollen, black sesame, chestnut, and soybean.
• Gwapyeon is a jelly-like summer dessert made with a variety of fruits, such as berries, cherries, and apricots. It is made by mixing fruit juice with starch and agar to attain a gelatinous consistency.
• Jeonggwa is a crispy, chewy sweet made of candied fruits, roots, or seeds. Common ingredients include yuja, quince, apricot, lotus root, radish, carrot, ginseng, balloon flower root, ginger, burdock root, bamboo shoot, and winter melon.
• Suksil-gwa, literally "cooked fruit", consists of fruit, roots, or seeds cooked and sweetened with honey. Common ingredients include chestnut, jujube, and ginger. Suksil-gwa is similar to—and sometimes classified as—jeonggwa, but has unique characteristics that differentiate it from the jeonggwa category.
• Yeot-gangjeong is made by mixing toasted seeds, nuts, beans, or popped grains with rice syrup and then cutting it into desired shapes. Common ingredients are pine nuts, walnuts, peanuts, sesame or perilla seeds, and popped rice.
• Yugwa is a deep-fried confection made with glutinous rice flour dough. It can be classified into gangjeong, sanja, and hangwa depending on its shape and size.
• Yumil-gwa refers to a deep-fried confection made of wheat flour dough. It may be made of various ingredients such as honey, cooking oil, cinnamon powder, nuts and cheongju (rice wine). It may be classified as mandu-gwa (dumplings), maejap-gwa (ribbons), or yakgwa (flower) according to the cooking methods. Other ko varieties include:
• Gotgam-mari is a roll made of dried persimmons and walnuts. It can be made by rolling a toasted and peeled walnut with a dried, deseeded, and flattened persimmon, then slicing each roll like slicing a gimbap.
• Yaksik, also called yakbap, is a sweet rice dessert made with steamed glutinous rice mixed with honey, soy sauce, jujubes, chestnuts, pine nuts, and sesame oil.

Occasions

Traditionally, ko was offered during jesa (ancestral rites), chuseok (harvest festival), weddings or hwangap (sixtieth-birthday) celebrations. Today ko can be purchased online, in markets, coffee shops or at tea houses.

Modern times

In the 1900s, ko began to fall out of favor with the introduction of sugar and western confection. In recent years, it has seen a revitalization and is associated with holiday food. With the rising demand for ko, this market has seen increased support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery. Today, it is offered as ceremonial food and is often gifted especially during seollal (Korean New Years). As society has sought healthier alternatives in consumable goods, efforts to produce confections to stimulate wellness began. Healthier ko was created by adding ginseng, green tea, and laver.

References

References

1. Doo, Rumy. (7 July 2017). "[Weekender] Extravagant desserts, once banned, return to spotlight". [[The Korea Herald]].
2. Koehler, Robert. (February 2017). "Korea's Sweet Tooth: People love their desserts, both traditional and exotic". [[Korean Culture and Information Service]].
3. (January 2020). "Hangwa". Hangwa Culture Museum.
4. "Hangwa-ryu". [[Doosan Corporation]].
5. Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "Hansik, Korean Food and Drinks".
6. Noh, Hyun-gi. (19 January 2012). "Art and history of 'hangwa'". [[The Korea Times]].
7. Iryeon. (1281). "Samguk yusa".
8. "Royal Cuisine".
9. (2012). "An Exploratory Study on Kwa-Jung-ryu of Head Families". Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture.
10. (2020-11-26). "Enjoy Korean royal desserts at Kohojae".
11. link
12. (7 March 2022). "10 Secrets About Korean Thanksgiving Food". Chuseok.org.
13. (March 2012). "Consumption Patterns and Perception Analyses of Hangwa". Preventive Nutrition and Food Science.

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