In ancient times, due to fuel shortage, food was cut into very small portions before it was cooked, eliminating a need for knives. Chopsticks were made from trees or bamboo because China has abundant wood and bamboo.The habit of eating cooked food “not only contributed substantially to food safety but it also reduced the advantage of big teeth.” Harald Brussow said, “Cooked food required much less cutting, tearing, and grinding than raw food.” ( 2007). Chopsticks were invented and adopted in ancient China because the people desired to eat hot food, like hotpot, dumpling. Therefore, wood or bamboo chopsticks can help Chinese to eat hot food directly without scalding their hands.

Korea also uses chopsticks and spoon to cook and transfer food, but they are made of metal instead of wood. One of the most important reasons is Korea lacks wood resources but is rich in gold, iron, and copper. On the other hand, metal chopsticks are much more durable than the wood one. That is no doubt that not all Korean people could afford metallic chopsticks in ancient times, especially for less wealthy families. Historically, Korean royalties used silver chopsticks. It was believed that the silver chopsticks can be used to prevent against poisonous food, as chopsticks will turn black when they touch poison. Therefore,  metallic chopsticks became a symbol of status.