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Dining out in Korea
This section is divided into three parts: dining out in Korea, popular dishes in Korea and etiquette related to eating in Korea.
Dining out
Dining out in Korea is a great experience. Korean food is cheap, healthy and delicious. Most people in Korea will go out for dinner at least once a week. Some teachers I’ve met will go out for virtually every meal. Korean food differs from Japanese food in that there are more meat dishes and some spicier dishes. Short-grained sticky rice is the staple of the Korean diet and kimchi is served with most meals.
One of the most popular dining experiences in Korea is to go to one of the many barbeque restaurants where the meat is cooked on a grill in front of you. It’s delicious and a great value. While many Korean restaurants are sit on the floor style, many also offer a section with table and chairs. When you order food in a restaurant meals come with a variety of side dishes including fish, vegetables, salad and so on that are refilled free of charge as often as you like.
Western restaurants are common in the big cities, although they are more expensive than Korean restaurants. You will find that most of the big restaurants chains and fast-food chains are all in Korea including McDonalds, Burger King, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, Popeye’s Chicken, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, and Starbucks should you ever have a craving. While restaurants like Outback and TGI Fridays are a bit expensive, the fast-food places like McDonalds are comparable to Noth America and are not expensive. The one exception to that would be Pizza Hut which is quite expensive and is not good value for your money.
If you live in one of the big cities, there is also a growing number of great ethnic restaurants. Around Seoul you can easily find a diversity of ethnic cuisine including Middle Eastern, Indian, Italian, Mexican, French, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and much more. Over the last few years the number of ethnic restaurants in Seoul has really increased.
Also popular is having food delivered. Delivery guys on motorbikes will bring inexpensive and delicious meals to your door in a matter of minutes. You may have to have the Korean phrases needed to order written on a card when you call as not many of the small restaurants have much English. You can also ask a Korean co-worker to help you. The price of ordering is usually comparable (3000-4000 won for lunch) to what it would cost to cook at home. I usually order food at least once or twice a week. When you order food, it will come on real dishes, not take out containers. When you finish your meal just put the dishes outside the door and the delivery guy will come back for them later.
Street stalls are also widely available everywhere in Korea and the food is quite good, prices are cheap and the portions are decent. I always like getting the steamed dumplings (mandu) after having a few beers. I would advise that you use discretion when eating at a street stall. If you see a crowd eating there, it’s probably OK. If you see no one else eating there, it’s probably better to avoid it.
Vegetarians might find it a little harder to dine out in Korea, but there are still many options available. One is to simply request that meat not be put in the dish. Another is to order one of the dishes that contain no meat (there are some). Vegetarians who come to Korea tend to cook at home more often, and there is a wide variety of inexpensive vegetable, grains, tofu, and noodles available at any local supermarket. There are vegetarian restaurants around Korea, so check out the possible options in our links section for vegetarian options in Korea.
If you like to cook at home, there are also lots of options. You should note that Koreans do not use Western-style ovens but instead cook on gas ranges. Every neighborhood has its own supermarkets where you can buy Korean food. Also, close to most areas will be department stores which have a large supermarket in the basement. Most of the local department store supermarkets have a fairly limited selection of Western food. The best selection of Western food is at CostCo, which has three locations in Korea. The bakery is excellent, it carries a lot of the Western foods that people crave (like good cheese) and the prices are reasonable (as an example I bought a pack of cinnamon buns there for 4,000 won). We usually make a CostCo run once a month.
Popular dishes in Korea
Galbi: Marinated pork or beef cooked on a grill in front of you.
Bulgogi: Thin, tender slices of marinated beef with vegetables, barbequed or stir-fried.
Samgyopsal: Thinly sliced pork that is grilled in front of you. Usually popular with soju, the traditional Korean alcohol.
Bibimbop: Cooked rice with bits of meat, vegetables and egg. Usually served with kochujang (red pepper paste), although you can ask for this not to be put in if you do not like any spice.
Naengmyon: Cold buckwheat noodles served in a beef broth with vegetables and thin beef slices. Very good in the hot summer.
Samgyetang: Soup made with chicken stuffed with ginsaeng, rice and garlic. Commonly eaten during the hottest summer weather.
Galbitang: A beef rib soup with vegetables and noodles.
Kimchi Chigae: A kimchi stew served in a stone bowl with kimchi and other vegetables.
Tenjang Chigae: A soy-bean stew served in a stone bowl with vegetables.
Mandu: Dumplings, fried or steamed, stuffed with beef, mushrooms, or vegetables.
Dukguk: A rice cake soup served with vegetables.
Korean etiquette
Here are a few tips you can remember that will help you with your dining experience in Korea.
Tip #1-Age and Respect: Koreans will usually wait to start eating until the eldest person at the table has begun eating to show respect.
Tip #2 – Pouring: When pouring drinks for someone else, use your right hand, and if they are older than you, place your left hand under your right arm. It is considered impolite to fill your own glass or leave another person’s glass empty. If you don’t want any more, leave a little at the bottom of the glass.
Tip #3 – Sharing Food: Koreans share dishes, so that except for your own bowl of rice, all food is placed in separate dishes in the center of the table and everyone takes what they want.
Tip #4 – Eating noises: Most Westerners find that Koreans make a lot of noise when they eat. There is a lot of slurping and smacking sounds. You will get used to it, but it can be a bit of a shock initially.
Tip #5 – Inviting and paying: Usually the person who does the inviting, pays the check in Korea. If you invite someone, you would pay the bill. If someone invites you, they would pay the check. Among younger people, however, it is common to split the check among everyone.
Tip #6 – Yelling in restaurants: When Koreans want something in a restaurant, they usually just shout it out. You will hear shouts of “Yogi-yo” (“here”) and whatever they want from across the restaurant. It took me a long time before I felt comfortable yelling in the restaurant and I usually just waited until the server came to our table to make my request. Note that this is only in Korean restaurants. You would look really strange if you did this at TGI Fridays or any other Western-style restaurant.
