There are many kinds of spicy flavors that koreans love. As mentioned above, there are three main types of spicy taste that can be felt with the human mouth.  The first is Capsaicin, which is contained a lot in red peppers. Capsaicin has an antibacterial effect and is also effective in preventing obesity. The second is Allicin in garlic and onions. Allicin is known to help people digest and lower cholesterol levels. The last is in the Piperine in pepper. Piperine has the characteristic of being easy to digest because it promotes the secretion of digestive fluid. Of course, these various spicy flavors originated not only in korea but also in many countries. Now, what kind of spiciness do readers enjoy and like?

  Chili peppers are used to add the spicy flavor to Korean food. The annual consumption of chili peppers per Korean is estimated to be about 4kg, with an average daily intake of approximately 11g. It is uncertain when chili peppers, which originated from South America, were introduced to Korea. However, the most plausible theory suggests that chili peppers were brought to the Korean Peninsula after being delivered to Nagasaki, Japan by Portuguese merchants in the mid-16th century. For a long time, however, chili peppers were treated as an inedible crop. In Jibong-Yuseol, the first Joseon Dynasty encyclopedia to mention chili peppers, it is written that chili peppers are said to contain strong poison.

  It was only after the 18th century that chili peppers were used in food in Korea, and this was caused by a surge in the price of salt. As the Confucian educational institutions of Hyanggyo and Seowon increased in Joseon, ancestor memorial services also increased. Thus, the demand for salt, which was necessary to prevent the decomposition of fish used for the ceremony, increased rapidly. In addition, because of a breakthrough in the cultivation of rice, where rice was first grown in a seabed, and then transplanted to a paddy, the production of rice soared. As the demand for rice increased the demand for side dishes increased, and along with it, people started seasoning their food with chili pepper powder instead of expensive salt. Until then, Gimchi was made by soaking vegetables in brine, like Baekgimchi. Thereafter, people used chili pepper powder to spice it, giving Gimchi the distinctive red color that people now know.

  How does our body experience spicy flavor? As everyone knows, spicy is not included in the category of flavors. There are no taste buds on our tongues that can detect spicy flavor and spicy taste is just the sensation of pain that stimulates the pain receptors which cannot distinguish between spicy and hot sensations. That is why human sweat when they eat spicy food. The more receptors individual people have on their tongues, the more sensitive they are to spicy flavors. Conversely, the fewer receptors they have on their tongue, the less spicy sensation they experience allowing them to eat spicy food well. Therefore, please note that people cannot practice eating spicy in order to improve their ability.

  Eating spicy food relieves stress by provoking pain in body, which causes the brain to secrete endorphins. Since endorphin is a natural pain killer, it makes people feel pleasant and relieves stress. In fact, in Europe, chili peppers were used as medicine in the early days of the chili pepper trade. Nicholas Monardes, a Spanish doctor in the 16th century, wrote in his book that eating chili peppers is effective in curing chest diseases as it energizes the body and calms the mind.