In Korea, food is for the soul as well as for the stomach. Meals are meant for sharing, and eating is seen as a means to better health and well-being. Known for spicy flavors, Korean food culture is all about the sauces and condiments and, in turn, fermentation – exemplified by the national treasure that is kimchi and fiery gochujang (red chili paste).
Koreans love eating out, and dining options range from casual bites at a market stall to regal banquets at traditional restaurants. In the big cities, food trends come and go at a breathless pace, making contemporary dining in Korea – especially street food – ideal content for social media feeds.
Whatever takes your fancy, start with our beginner’s guide that details the top 11 things to eat and drink in South Korea.
Hands-down the best hands-on eating experience in Korea, there’s something about sizzling meat with friends on a tabletop grill that really gets the conversation (and drinks) flowing.
The first step at a Korean BBQ restaurant is to select your cuts: beef, typically galbi (short ribs) or bulgogi (thinly-sliced sirloin marinated in sweet soy sauce), and pork, such as samgyeopsal (streaky pork belly). After grilling, wrap each meaty morsel in ssam (vegetable leaves) before eating, along with optional fresh garlic, green pepper, kimchi and spicy ssamjang (soybean and red-pepper sauce). And don’t forget the beer.
Where to try it: Go to Hongik Sutbul Galbi for an authentic Korean BBQ experience in Seoul.
For a more refined dining experience, hanjeongsik (sometimes translated as a set menu or table d’hôte) is a royal spread of banquet dishes all served at once: fish, meat, soup, dubu jjigae (tofu stew), rice, noodles, steamed egg, shellfish and a flock of banchan (cold side dishes). It’s a delightful way to sample a wide range of seasonal Korean food in one go.
At the best places, the dishes will be served in regal bangjja (bronze) tableware, set out aesthetically on the table according to color and taste profile, like an edible work of art.
Where to try it: Set in a renovated traditional hanok house, Korea House is Seoul’s first choice for hanjeongsik.
Comfort in a bowl, bibimbap is the definitive Korean staple: rice topped with vegetables, sometimes meat, chili paste and egg. The ingredients are laid out in a bowl according to the five primary colors of Korean food – white, yellow, green, red and black – representing the five elements. Just add a squirt of red gochujang, stir it all up and enjoy. Bibimbap comes from the food-mad city of Jeonju, along with its delicious variant, dolsot bibimbap, served in a hot stone pot that encourages a satisfying layer of crusty rice to form at the bottom.
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