This study aim to identify preference of main and side dishes of 681 children who lived in Seoul and Gyoung-gi (Incheon) in 2007. To accomplish this, we divided the children into three age groups, an infancy group (below 6 years of age), a middle years group (between 7 and 12 years of age) and a juvenile group (above 12 years of age). Specifically, 145 children were in the infancy group (boys 68, girls 77), 300 children were in middle years group (boys 138, girls 162) and 236 children were in juveniles group (boys 131, girls 105). The average body mass index (BMI) of the parents of the respondents appeared to be normal, and the majority of the parents had bachelor degrees. Across all age groups, most fathers were office workers and most mothers were housewives. The preference for staple foods showed that the infancy group and the middle years group preferred rice the most, while the juvenile group preferred stir-fried rice the most out of 5 grain items. Evaluation of the preference for different types of noodles showed that both boys and girls from the infancy group preferred jajangmyun, while those in the middle years group and the juvenile group preferred spaghetti. For breads, both boys and girls from the infancy group had the highest preference for cake, while boys and girls in the middle years group and boys in the juvenile group preferred pizza the most, and girls from juvenile group preferred cake the most. Evaluation of the preference for soups and pot stew revealed that both boys and girls in the infancy group preferred seaweed soup, while boys from middle years group preferred seol-long-tang and girls from middle years group preferred seaweed soup. Boys and girls from the juvenile group preferred seol-long-tang the most. For hard-boiled foods and stir-fried foods, members of all age groups preferred beef boiled in soy sauce the most and hard-boiled peppers the least. Finally, comparison of the preference for roasted foods, seasoned vegetables and kimchi revealed that the infancy group preferred roasted seaweed the most and that both the middle years and juvenile group had the greatest preference for roasted galbi.

• 정혜정(우송대학교 외식조리유학과) | Hea-Jung Chung Corresponding author