This section covers the essentials of Why do koreans use scissors before getting into the details below.

It was a crisp, chilly autumn evening here in Washington when my husband’s jaw hit the floor.

I had just pulled a pair of sizzling, beautifully seared ribeye steaks off the stove and placed them on a serving platter. Without thinking, I reached into my kitchen drawer, pulled out a large, heavy-duty pair of metal scissors, and started snip-snapping the steak into perfect, bite-sized pieces right there on the plate.

My husband stared at me, his eyes wide with a mix of horror and sheer confusion.

“Karina,” he gasped, pointing a trembling finger at my hand. “Are you cutting my steak with… office scissors?!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. To him, an American who grew up with the strict etiquette of steak knives and wooden cutting boards, I looked like a rogue crafter running wild in the kitchen. But to me, a Korean woman who watched her mother and grandmother glide through meal prep with a pair of shears, I was just doing what made absolute, logical sense.

If you’ve ever stepped into a Korean BBQ restaurant or watched a K-drama, you’ve probably seen it: a server effortlessly cutting thick slabs of pork belly (samgyeopsal) right over a roaring fire, or a grandmother snipping long, icy buckwheat noodles (naengmyeon) directly in the bowl.

To Western kitchens, scissors are for opening plastic packages. To Koreans, they are the ultimate, indispensable culinary weapon.

Here is why we cut everything with scissors—and why, if you try it, you might never go back to your cutting board again.

The Ultimate Kitchen Hack: Ditching the Cutting Board

Let’s be honest: who actually enjoys washing cutting boards?

In Korea, space is precious, and efficiency is king. If you can chop an ingredient directly into the pot, pan, or bowl without dirtying a cutting board and a heavy chef’s knife, you’ve won the kitchen game.

Take Kimchi, for example. If you place a block of fermented Kimchi on a wooden cutting board, two things happen:

1. Your board gets stained with bright red chili oil.

2. The board absorbs the strong, pungent garlic-and-ginger aroma, which is nearly impossible to wash out (nobody wants their morning apple slices tasting like fermented garlic!).

Instead, Korean home cooks simply hold the Kimchi up with tongs over the boiling stew (찌개 – jjigae) and snip it directly into the pot. No mess, no red-stained board, and zero extra cleanup.

We do the same for scallions, mushrooms, tofu, and greens. It’s fast, precise, and incredibly satisfying.

A Tool Born of Speed and Fire: The K-BBQ Revolution

How did this tool go from a home kitchen secret to a cultural icon? We have Korean BBQ to thank.

In a traditional K-BBQ restaurant, meats are cooked raw right at your table over hot charcoal. When you are dealing with thin, slippery strips of marinated beef (bulgogi) or thick, fatty slabs of pork belly on a hot, curved grill, a traditional knife and fork are practically useless. There’s no flat surface to cut on!

Using a knife on a hot grill would ruin the knife’s edge and scratch the metal grates.

Enter the kitchen shears. Paired with a sturdy set of metal tongs, the scissors allow the griller to lift the meat, feel its texture, and snip it cleanly at the perfect moment of tenderness—all while keeping their hands safely away from the blistering heat.

From Cold Noodles to Pizza: No Food is Safe (or Too Long)

Once you realize how powerful a good pair of kitchen scissors is, you start seeing “snipping opportunities” everywhere.

*   Naengmyeon (Cold Noodles): Korean buckwheat noodles are notoriously springy and long. To prevent guests from choking or having to awkwardly slurp a yard of noodles, servers will ask, “Would you like me to cut them?” and perform a quick, satisfying two-way snip right in your bowl of icy broth.

*   Jeon (Korean Pancakes): Whether it’s a savory Kimchi pancake or a seafood-scallion pancake (haemul pajeon), we skip the pizza cutter and use scissors to cut them into neat, bite-sized squares.

*   Pizza and Quesadillas: Yes, even Western foods get the Korean scissor treatment in my house! Snipping a quesadilla into triangles is infinitely faster than rocking a knife back and forth.

The Transformation of an American Husband

Remember my horrified husband from the beginning of this story?

Fast forward a few years. Last weekend, we hosted a backyard barbecue for our friends here in Washington. As the steaks sizzled on the grill, who do you think was standing there, tongs in his left hand, heavy-duty Korean shears in his right, proudly snipping meat like a seasoned K-BBQ chef?

My husband.

He looked over at me, winked, and whispered, “I’m never using a steak knife at a grill again. This is genius.”

Even our little boy benefits from this Korean kitchen secret. Whenever I feed him, I don’t have to take his plate back to the counter to chop his food. I just take my trusty kitchen shears and snip his chicken, noodles, or broccoli into perfect toddler-sized bites right in front of him. It’s safe, quick, and keeps the food warm.

Have You Joined the “Scissor Side” Yet?

If you are skeptical, I challenge you to try it. Go to your local market, purchase a dedicated, high-quality pair of stainless steel kitchen shears (heavy-duty ones with a micro-serrated blade work best), and try snipping your next batch of scallions or bacon directly into the pan.

I promise you’ll never look at a pair of scissors the same way again.

Summary: What to Remember About Why do koreans use scissors

That’s the essential picture of Why do koreans use scissors — refer back to the sections above for specifics.