The Rainy-Day Scene Korean Viewers Instantly Recognize
Rain starts falling outside the house, and inside, BTS members turn toward the kitchen. This is the opening of Episode 3 from In the SOOP BTS ver. Season 1, titled “Memories of a Rainy Day,” released September 2, 2020. Within minutes, someone is frying jeon in a pan.
For international viewers, this might look like a simple cooking segment. For Korean audiences, it reads instantly as something else entirely. The sound of rain, the sizzle of batter, the gathering around a shared pan — these signal a specific emotional register before anyone says a word.
VISITKOREA, the Korea Tourism Organization’s official platform, highlights this exact scene as an example of Korean situational food culture. The pairing of rain and jeon is not a coincidence written into the episode. It reflects something Korean viewers already carry in their heads.
Jeon, Pajeon, and Buchimgae Are Related but Not Identical
Before going further, it helps to untangle three words that often appear together in translation and confuse readers who are new to Korean food vocabulary.
Jeon is the umbrella term. The Korea Tourism Organization describes it as a savory Korean pancake, typically made by pan-frying flour batter mixed with vegetables or seafood. Buchimgae is essentially another name for the same category, used interchangeably in everyday speech.
Pajeon is one specific member of this larger family. It centers on scallions, called “pa” in Korean, mixed into the batter and shallow-fried on a griddle. So when people say they are “eating jeon on a rainy day,” pajeon is often what comes to mind first, but it is not the only variety that qualifies.
Why This Distinction Matters for the BTS Scene
When subtitles translate the In the SOOP scene, they usually just say “pancake” or “Korean pancake.” That single word flattens an entire category of dishes into one generic term, losing the layered vocabulary Korean viewers use without thinking.
Does Frying Pajeon Really Sound Like Rain?
One widely repeated explanation is sensory: the sound of rain hitting the ground resembles the sound of batter sizzling in hot oil. Both produce a steady, rhythmic pattering.
The Korea Tourism Organization presents this as a common explanation, not a scientifically confirmed origin. No historical document says Koreans began frying jeon specifically because of this sound match. It functions more like a piece of folk logic — a story that feels true and gets passed down because it resonates.
This distinction matters for readers trying to understand Korean food culture accurately. The sound theory is worth knowing because so many Koreans reference it casually, but it should not be mistaken for verified history.
The Older Story Behind the Frying Pan
A separate explanation, also from the Korea Tourism Organization, points to Korea’s agrarian past. Rain meant farmers could not work in the fields. Staying indoors during a downpour created an unusual block of free time.
With outdoor labor paused, households turned to what was already available: seasonal ingredients like scallions, chives, and zucchini. Batter-frying was a practical way to use these vegetables without needing extensive preparation or specialized equipment.
This agrarian explanation and the sound-based one are not mutually exclusive. They likely reinforced each other over generations, with the practical habit of rainy-day cooking eventually picking up the poetic sound association as a memorable way to talk about it.
Why Makgeolli Completes the Picture
Korean tourism materials identify rice wine as pajeon’s traditional rainy-day pairing, and in practice, this usually means makgeolli. Makgeolli belongs to a cloudy Korean alcohol category called takju. According to Korea.net, production methods for related rice alcohol appear in documents dating back to Korea’s Three Kingdoms era.
What makgeolli adds to the picture is not just flavor. It carries agricultural and communal associations that shift jeon from an individual snack into a shared social moment. Historically, rice alcohol was tied to farming communities and collective labor, which lines up naturally with the agrarian explanation behind rainy-day jeon.
Pouring makgeolli into small bowls, passing them around, and eating jeon straight from the pan turns a rainy afternoon into a low-key gathering. The drink signals that this is a moment for company, not solitary comfort food.
What the BTS Scene Communicates Without Explaining
Returning to In the SOOP, the frying pan scene works because it never needs to explain itself to Korean viewers. The rain starts, someone reaches for scallions, and the mood of the episode shifts toward warmth and slowing down.
This is where subtitles reach a real limit. They can translate “pajeon” as “scallion pancake” accurately enough. What they cannot translate is the layered cultural reflex packed into that single visual: rain outside, sizzling inside, and people gathering because of both.
K-content frequently uses food this way — not as a plot point, but as emotional shorthand. A rainy scene with jeon frying in the background tells Korean audiences everything about mood and companionship before any dialogue happens. International viewers watching the same scene get the surface action but often miss this second layer entirely.
How to Experience the Tradition Outside Korea
Recreating this at home in the United States or Canada does not require chasing a single “correct” recipe. It works better as an experience built around timing, ingredients, and company.
One version many home cooks use starts simply:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cold water
- 1 bunch scallions, cut into 3-inch lengths
- 1 egg (optional, for a richer batter)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Neutral oil for pan-frying
One popular way to make it goes like this:
- Whisk flour, cold water, egg, and salt into a batter with a texture similar to pancake batter.
- Lay scallions flat in a hot, oiled pan, arranging them like a bed.
- Pour the batter evenly over the scallions, covering them completely.
- Fry until the bottom turns golden and crisp, then flip carefully.
- Cook the second side until crisp, then slide onto a plate and slice into wedges.
The vegetables can shift with what is seasonally available — zucchini, chives, or other quick-cooking vegetables all work, echoing the flexible, whatever-is-on-hand spirit behind the original rainy-day habit.
What matters more than exact proportions is the setting: rain against a window, the sound of batter hitting a hot pan, and at least one other person sharing the plate. That combination, more than any specific recipe, is what the tradition is actually about.
Sources
- VISITKOREA, Korea Tourism Organization · 2025-08-27
- VISITKOREA, Korea Tourism Organization · date unknown
- BTS Weverse official media page; scene context cross-checked with VISITKOREA · date unknown
- Apple TV · date unknown
- Korea.net, Korean Culture and Information Service · 2022-08-25