# Dosirak (도시락)
**Dosirak** (도시락) is a packed meal in [Korean cuisine](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-cuisine): cooked rice with side dishes carried in a closed container to be eaten away from home, at school, work, travel, or as a purchased or delivered ready meal.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| North Korean equivalent | 곽밥 (rice in a 밥곽 box) is the standard North Korean term; dictionaries define 밥곽 as a simple container of aluminum, plastic, or wood, usually made square[1](https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/2015_2/25_02.pdf) |
| Earlier Korean usage | Through the 1960s the Japanese word 벤또 (bento) was used for dosirak; the Korean word later became fully established[2](https://journal.kci.go.kr/cdak/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART002517619) |
| Instant-noodle brand | Doshirak (팔도 도시락) is also the name of a South Korean instant noodle brand by Paldo; in Uzbekistan it held about 20% of the ramen market[3](https://freshyk.tistory.com/1059) |
| Russian operation | Doshirak Rus, founded 2010 in Moscow, reported 2025 revenue of $378 million; the Russian ramen market is led by Doshirak Rus and Mareven Food Central[4](https://www.ckp.kr/data/commodity-db/243820) |
| Export channel | Dosirak sold as airline in-flight meals are classified as exports and were the leading food item by export value in a 2016 industry analysis[5](https://atfis.or.kr/home/pdf/file.do?file=%2Fupload_old%2FARTICLE%2F20160418%2F2091%2F4F2F932CB05B4A479707A4540B045F06.pdf) |
| Convenience-store demand | Dosirak sales at the four major convenience-store chains rose by double digits in the first 20 days of August 2025 versus the previous month[6](https://m.skyedaily.com/pdf_view.html?pdf_url=%2Fdata%2Fskyn_pdf%2F2025%2F20250825%2Fweb%2F20250825-05) |
## The word across the Korean divide
The two Korean states use different standard words for the packed meal. In South Korea it is 도시락; in [North Korea](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-korea) the standard term is 곽밥, with the container itself called 밥곽[7](https://www.sinagong.co.kr/pds/009005001/books/1034/download-data/263). The North's dictionaries, unchanged between the 1992 and 2006 editions, define 곽밥 in two senses: rice put in a rice box, and rice boxed and sold so that travelers can buy a meal[1](https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/2015_2/25_02.pdf). The same dictionaries list 도시락밥 as a headword meaning "rice put in a dosirak," noting that it is shortened to 도시락, and a later editorial treatment describes this entry as a polished, confident usage in current rather than only old vocabulary[1](https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/2015_2/25_02.pdf). In comparative wordlists used in South Korean schooling, 도시락 (South) and 곽밥 (North) are presented as a paired vocabulary difference of the divided language[7](https://www.sinagong.co.kr/pds/009005001/books/1034/download-data/263).
The word's rise is comparatively recent. A study of dosirak-related design and culture notes that until the 1960s Korean speakers used the Japanese loanword 벤또 for the packed meal, pairing it with words like "to wrap" and "frugal"; the native-derived word 도시락 has since fully displaced it[2](https://journal.kci.go.kr/cdak/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART002517619).
## Home-packed and traditional forms
Homemade dosirak is often packed with rice and side dishes separated into compartments of a layered container, and insulated containers are also used[8](https://wiki.onul.works/w/%EB%8F%84%EC%8B%9C%EB%9D%BD). The nostalgic "old-style dosirak" (옛날 도시락) consists of rice, stir-fried kimchi, a sausage dipped in egg and pan-fried, a fried egg, and shredded seaweed, typically served in a square tin or silver-coated box[8](https://wiki.onul.works/w/%EB%8F%84%EC%8B%9C%EB%9D%BD). School rules in South Korea allow home-packed dosirak to substitute for cafeteria meals during vacation periods[9](https://www.ice.go.kr/upload/afterschool/na/bbs_1536/2026/03/bd71adc1d7c16158d1d2e6e623161949.pdf).
## Commercial dosirak
Dosirak is now a mass product. In a 2016 analysis of ready-to-eat and cooked foods, dosirak sold as airline in-flight meals formed a large share of the B2B channel and, being classified as exports, ranked first among food items by export value[5](https://atfis.or.kr/home/pdf/file.do?file=%2Fupload_old%2FARTICLE%2F20160418%2F2091%2F4F2F932CB05B4A479707A4540B045F06.pdf). The same analysis recorded a sharp drop in dosirak production in 2014 after years of growth, attributing it jointly to falling convenience-store dosirak sales, the expansion of budget airlines whose passengers bought triangle gimbap and similar ready-to-eat items instead, and data-entry errors in which in-flight meals were logged under a different category[5](https://atfis.or.kr/home/pdf/file.do?file=%2Fupload_old%2FARTICLE%2F20160418%2F2091%2F4F2F932CB05B4A479707A4540B045F06.pdf).
**Convenience stores and delivery.** Convenience stores sell dosirak as a core single-household meal, with subscription discounts applying to dosirak and meal-management items at chains such as CU and GS25[10](https://note3385.tistory.com/196). Aggregated data from the four major chains showed double-digit growth in dosirak sales for August 1–20, 2025, compared with the same period of the previous month[6](https://m.skyedaily.com/pdf_view.html?pdf_url=%2Fdata%2Fskyn_pdf%2F2025%2F20250825%2Fweb%2F20250825-05). Meal-support service standards require that delivered dosirak be hygienically packed, transported with coolant in insulated bags, and accompanied by written information on its expiration date and storage[11](https://clik.nanet.go.kr/clikr-collection/policyinfo/95/624/2024/CLIKC1063911873019622_attach_1.pdf). A market report on South Korea's disposable meal-box market attributes its growth to the popularity of food delivery services and rising demand for ready-to-eat food, with food service, retail, and institutional users the main segments[12](https://www.globalresearch.co.kr/south-korea-disposable-meal-box-bf2504g058).
## Food safety
A microbiological study comparing dosirak from social enterprises serving children who miss meals, franchise vendors, and convenience stores found that levels of *Staphylococcus aureus* exceeded food-standard limits in the kimchi and radish side dishes of some commercial dosirak and in squid, seasoned chicken, and stir-fried kimchi items of others, while the social-enterprise products stayed within limits[13](https://e-jnh.org/pdf/10.4163/jnh.2014.47.3.214).
Regulatory practice reflects the risk profile. School feeding guidelines require that a retained sample of every served meal be stored at -18 degrees Celsius or below for 144 hours (6 days) in dedicated containers[9](https://www.ice.go.kr/upload/afterschool/na/bbs_1536/2026/03/bd71adc1d7c16158d1d2e6e623161949.pdf), and guidance for purchasing dosirak for school care classrooms directs buyers to confirm that the vendor is registered as a food manufacturing and processing business on the national food safety portal and to store purchased dosirak at proper temperatures[14](https://www.goebc.kr/upload/sukchun-e/na/bbs_1576/2025/10/5A2A94D9-1BB5-05CE-A749-A848145EFC5B.pdf).
## Doshirak, the noodle brand
The word is also the name of a product: Doshirak is Paldo's instant noodle brand, and abroad the brand name has traveled farther than the meal it names. In [Uzbekistan](https://www.edgepedia.org/uzbekistan), Doshirak noodles produced in Russia held about a 20 percent share of that market, the largest of any brand[3](https://freshyk.tistory.com/1059). In Russia the brand is written Доширак and is read roughly as "dashirak" in the Korean-based transliteration commonly used by Russian speakers of Korean heritage, or "doshirak" in local pronunciation[15](https://www.namu.moe/w/%ED%8C%94%EB%8F%84%20%EB%8F%84%EC%8B%9C%EB%9D%BD). There the name has become a generic term, used the way a dominant product's name stands for the whole category[15](https://www.namu.moe/w/%ED%8C%94%EB%8F%84%20%EB%8F%84%EC%8B%9C%EB%9D%BD).
The commercial footprint has grown. Doshirak Rus, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Moscow, reported revenue of $378 million in 2025, and the Russian instant-noodle market is led by Doshirak Rus and Mareven Food Central[4](https://www.ckp.kr/data/commodity-db/243820). Russian imports of instant noodles, dominated by South Korea, China, and [Kazakhstan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kazakhstan), reached $130.208 million in 2025, with South Korea the largest source at $46.489 million (a 35.7 percent share, up 69.2 percent from 2024)[4](https://www.ckp.kr/data/commodity-db/243820).
## Comparison with Japan's bento
Korean and Japanese packed meals share history but differ in framing. A comparative study notes that Koreans say one "wraps" a dosirak while Japanese say one "prepares" a bento, and that in Korean usage dosirak, once a byword for a frugal simple meal, now also evokes friendship and care[2](https://journal.kci.go.kr/cdak/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART002517619). The delivered-meal segment in Japan is sizable: according to figures cited from the Japan Food Safety and Assurance Foundation and the Yano Research Institute, the nakashoku (home-delivered meal) market grew from 5 trillion yen in 1995 to 6.3 trillion yen in 2005, an increase of 25.9 percent[16](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2011120965131).
## References
1. [국립국어원, 『한겨레 통일 시대의 국어 문화』 특집 (2015), 곽밥/밥곽/도시락 사전 뜻풀이](https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/2015_2/25_02.pdf)
2. [시각디자인학회, 도시락 관련 디자인·문화 연구 (Journal of KCI)](https://journal.kci.go.kr/cdak/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART002517619)
3. [우즈베키스탄 라면 시장의 성장 (KOTRA 발췌 블로그 정리)](https://freshyk.tistory.com/1059)
4. [CKP 한국경영지원센터, 러시아 인스턴트 라면 시장 동향 (2025)](https://www.ckp.kr/data/commodity-db/243820)
5. [한국농수산식품유통공사(aT), 즉석섭취·조리식품 산업 보고서 (2016)](https://atfis.or.kr/home/pdf/file.do?file=%2Fupload_old%2FARTICLE%2F20160418%2F2091%2F4F2F932CB05B4A479707A4540B045F06.pdf)
6. [스카이데일리, 편의점 4사 도시락 매출 보도 (2025)](https://m.skyedaily.com/pdf_view.html?pdf_url=%2Fdata%2Fskyn_pdf%2F2025%2F20250825%2Fweb%2F20250825-05)
7. [남한말과 북한말 비교 학습자료 (시냉곤 교재)](https://www.sinagong.co.kr/pds/009005001/books/1034/download-data/263)
8. [오늘의AI위키, 도시락](https://wiki.onul.works/w/%EB%8F%84%EC%8B%9C%EB%9D%BD)
9. [인천교육지원청, 보존식 보관 방법 (급식 안전 지침)](https://www.ice.go.kr/upload/afterschool/na/bbs_1536/2026/03/bd71adc1d7c16158d1d2e6e623161949.pdf)
10. [편의점 3사 구독 혜택 비교 (CU, GS25 등)](https://note3385.tistory.com/196)
11. [국립중앙도서관 CLIK, 식사지원 서비스 품질관리 안내](https://clik.nanet.go.kr/clikr-collection/policyinfo/95/624/2024/CLIKC1063911873019622_attach_1.pdf)
12. [한국 일회용 도시락 시장 동향 및 2030년 시장규모 예측 (Global Research)](https://www.globalresearch.co.kr/south-korea-disposable-meal-box-bf2504g058)
13. [Journal of Nutrition and Health 47(3): 214–220 (2014), 도시락 미생물 위생 평가](https://e-jnh.org/pdf/10.4163/jnh.2014.47.3.214)
14. [특수교육대상학생 안전관리, 돌봄교실 급간식 구매 가이드](https://www.goebc.kr/upload/sukchun-e/na/bbs_1576/2025/10/5A2A94D9-1BB5-05CE-A749-A848145EFC5B.pdf)
15. [나무위키, 팔도 도시락](https://www.namu.moe/w/%ED%8C%94%EB%8F%84%20%EB%8F%84%EC%8B%9C%EB%9D%BD)
16. [한국경제, 일본의 벤또 문화와 나카쇼쿠 시장 (2011)](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2011120965131)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Dishes, foods, and foodstuffs › Dishes and prepared foods — overview and dish-type concepts*
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