Why Do Korean Restaurants Give Wet Tissues Before a Meal?

If you sit down at a restaurant in Korea, there is a good chance a server will drop a small sealed packet on the table before you even order: a disposable wet tissue, called mul-tissue (물티슈). The short answer is that it is a hand towel for the meal. Many Korean dishes are eaten with your hands at some point — wrapping grilled meat in lettuce, peeling shrimp, holding fried chicken — and the wet tissue lets you clean your hands at the table without walking to the restroom. It is free, it is normal, and you can use it however you like.

From cloth towels to sealed packets

For a long time, many Korean restaurants handed out a rolled, damp cloth towel called a mul-sugeon (물수건), similar to the oshibori you may know from Japan. These towels were usually collected, washed and returned by laundry suppliers. Over the years, Korean media reported several cases of poorly cleaned restaurant towels with high bacteria counts, and many customers simply started to prefer something sealed and single-use. Disposable wet tissues are cheap, easy to stock and feel more hygienic to diners, so they gradually replaced cloth towels in most everyday restaurants.

You will still see cloth towels in some places, especially traditional or higher-end restaurants, and some shops now put out a box of paper napkins or a roll of tissue instead.

Why it matters so much in Korean food culture

Hands-on dishes

Korean BBQ is the classic example. You pick up a lettuce or perilla leaf, add meat, garlic and sauce, fold it and eat it in one bite. Your fingers will get oily and sauced. The same goes for crab, pork trotters (jokbal), boiled pork wraps (bossam) and chicken. A wet tissue before and during the meal makes this much more comfortable.

Wiping the table and utensils

Many locals also use the wet tissue to give the table a quick wipe, or to wipe the edge of a spoon or chopsticks before eating. This is not a criticism of the restaurant — it is simply a habit. You may notice people doing it in fast-casual places where cutlery is kept in a drawer at the table (see our guide on why Korean restaurants put spoons and chopsticks in a drawer).

Part of the "service" feeling

Korean restaurants tend to put small comforts on the table without being asked: water or barley tea, refillable side dishes, and the wet tissue. It is part of the same hospitality idea behind free side dishes (banchan).

The environmental debate

Many disposable wet tissues contain plastic fibres and are not recyclable, so they have become part of Korea's wider discussion about single-use items. The government has discussed limiting plastic wet wipes in restaurants, but the rules have changed several times and are still debated. As a visitor, you may see different things at different restaurants: wet tissues, paper towels, cloth towels or nothing at all. If you want to cut waste, it is perfectly fine to leave the packet unopened.

Wet tissue etiquette

• Use it for your hands and mouth. Wiping your face or neck with it is something you might see older customers do, but many younger Koreans find it a bit much in public.
• Don't flush it. Wet tissues do not break down like toilet paper. Leave used ones on the table or in the bin.
• Ask if you need more. Just say "Mul-tissue jom juseyo" (물티슈 좀 주세요) — "Some wet tissues, please."
• Self-service is common. In some restaurants, wet tissues sit in a box at the water station along with cups and napkins.

"First thing I do at a BBQ place? Open the wet tissue, then the lettuce basket." — Mina, POPORO CITY

Quick tips

• Keep the packet until the end of the meal — you will want it after the wraps.
• Carry a small pack of your own wet wipes for street food markets, where they are not always provided.
• No wet tissue on the table? Look for a self-service corner or press the table call bell and ask.
• Throw used tissues in the trash, never the toilet.

FAQ

Do I have to pay for the wet tissue?

No. In ordinary restaurants it is free, like water and side dishes.

Is it rude not to use it?

Not at all. Nobody will notice or mind.

Can I take extra packets with me?

Taking one or two leftover packets from your own table is generally not a problem, but don't take a handful from the self-service box.

Why does my packet feel cold?

Some restaurants keep wet tissues or cloth towels in a fridge in summer so they feel refreshing, and a few warm them in winter.

Is the wet tissue safe for the skin?

They are made for hands and the mouth area. If you have sensitive skin, use it only on your hands and wash with soap when you can.