Korean Superstition – Giving your husband wings to eat will make him run away

So I’ve heard of many Korean superstitions but this is one of the weirder (but more tame, believe it or not) ones.

It goes that if you give your husband wings to eat, he will run away. Presumably because his stomach will be full of wings and he’ll want to take flight (Redbull commercial style).

I was recently reminded of it because the Super Bowl is coming up and what is the most popular thing to eat while watching? You guessed it – chicken wings!

Is this superstition all that strange though?

As with many superstitions, there’s some grain, however small, of truth, even if it was only for that period in time.

So let’s dissect this for a moment shall we?

Perhaps when the superstition came about, oh so long ago, chicken wings were considered the least desirable part of the chicken.

Also, it’s quite possible that the superstition doesn’t refer to just chickens, but any fowl. So if we’re talking about a really small bird, those wings are going to be nothing but bones (hallow ones at that!).

Are you going to eat that?

I, for one, would be not all too happy if my spouse ate an entire chicken and left me nothing but the wings…especially since he knows I like drumsticks!

Conversely, what if the husband likes wings? He’s going to wonder what’s up with holding out the wings for yourself…or someone else??

There was no Bon Chon! 😱

And you just know that back then, the idea of delicious chicken wings (battered or dry rubbed) probably did not even exist.

So yeah, it kind of makes sense that someone may feel a bit slighted if they got just the wings.

A Paltry Excuse (Sorry, had to)

However, the superstition doesn’t say just the wings. In that case, if the husband is getting the whole chicken or whatever fowl, including the wings, I don’t get what his problem is. And I think we can assume he’s using the wings in his belly as an excuse to fly the coup, if you will.

Sexist Superstition

And how come I’ve never heard of not giving the wife wings, lest she run away? Are we to presume it’s because it’s always the wife who cooks and she wouldn’t give herself wings to eat??

Either way, it’s still sexist!

Mm, wings….

So even though this superstition might have made some sense once upon a time, I give it a big thumbs down now. Because it’s sexist, and because most husbands and people, in general, would feel pretty lucky getting some delicious wings.

Enjoy those wings guilty-free and without fear during the Super Bowl. And be sure to come back this Friday for my Korean (oven baked) Fried Chicken recipe…the other KFC! 😆