Postby javiskefka » December 28th, 2009 4:26 pm
You already have a firmly established association in your brain between the word 'itadakimasu' and the behavior of starting a meal. It was probably established simply through repeatedly saying the word in the same situation and observing others do the same. If you want to, you can rewire that association by repeating the ritual with the words '잘 먹겠습니다' instead of the Japanese phrase.
It has nothing to do with being more comfortable with the Japanese language as a whole, or being a new Korean learner. It's just that you've trained yourself to behave in a certain way. Over time, you can change your behavior if that's what suits you.