5 Tips – When Eating in Korea

1. They use spoons –
One of the problems westerners face when arriving in Korea is the prospect of using chopsticks. With Asian cuisine being popular abroad most people have had a few attempts at these intriguing utensils but knowing it will be the only way you will eat when you arrive can scare a few. The main thing to understand is they don’t just use chopsticks here. In Korea a spoon will always come with your meal. This is mainly for soups and you will happy to hear, rice.
During university I lived with a friend who was originally from Hong Kong, he use to find it hilarious that we all tried to pick up rice with chopsticks. ‘We always use the spoon; we think you are crazy when you don’t’. This filled me with relief but I wondered if Korea would be the same. Luckily it is, in fact Koreans use their spoons for most things, and they even use it as a knife when the job calls for it. It is however important to note that chopsticks still crop up in the weirdest places. The most challenging things I’ve had to use them for would probably be birthday cake and chicken wings. If you fear the chopsticks and want a fork then you may be out of luck as they are as rare as a French man’s steak. The only time I’ve seen forks is in western restaurants or when you order a DongKassa which is a bread crumbed steak of meat that comes in a curry sauce similar to the Japanese dish Dong Katsu which is also a bread crumbed meat with a curry sauce. I’ve asked a few Koreans if one dish is based on the other but no one seems to be sure.
It’s also important to note, Korean chopsticks are a little different from the Chinese chopsticks. They are normally flat and made of metal instead of round and made of wood. This doesn’t sound like a big difference but if you’ve been using one type at home for most of your life it will be an odd adjustment, or at the very least an embarrassing one.
2.  Nobody really drinks with their meals –
In almost all restaurants water is provided   but it is usually in a very small metal cup. People apparently, aren’t meant to drink with their food as it slows down digestion but if like me it is something you are use to it will be a hard adjustment. In school the only drink people have is a very small glass of barley tea at the end of the meal and this is meant to be to swill your teeth.
The exception to this is of course alcohol. Drinking alcohol and eating is a very popular past time in Korea. Instead of going to a pub for a drink you meet friends and do both eating and drinking at the same time. This is a very good thing since the alcohol is very potent in Korea. Your stomach will be grateful.

Some of the food we bought to get some Makgolli

3. You need to buy food to drink –

This is leading on from our last tip and is important to know when you sit down in a bar. If it is western themed then you may be ok but if the establishment calls itself a soju room (a type of sweet potato liquor similar to vodka but a fraction of the price) a Hof (a German word that has somehow become the Korean reference to a bar) or a Korean makgolli bar (a rice wine ) you will almost certainly be asked to buy food. Normally it is well priced and perfect snack food so it’s still definitely worth it but very good to know when the waiter stands patiently waiting at your table.

4. You will eat KimChi (and Radish) –

When you order food in a restaurant you will normally be showered in tiny plates. Normally the amount of food that accompanies your meal for free will fill you up before your order even arrives. These normally include, egg in a hot pot, seaweed, a sweet potato dish, a salad with kiwi/ pineapple dressing and of course kimchi, bugs and radish.

If you are coming to Korea then it is inevitable that you will have heard of this fermented cabbage. KimChi isn’t just a food in this country but a national symbol. The food itself can only be made in winter during kimChi season and consists of a cabbage fermented with a mixture of garlic, red pepper paste and a whole host of ingredients. These ingredients are kept underground in in a think vase like pot for one to two years before being consumed. It is red in colour and will come to your table at every opportunity. Trying to explain the importance of this food to someone who hasn’t visited this country is hard because I’ve never experienced an association like it. In Korea, when you take a photo people shout ‘KimChi’ instead of cheese, in fact the peace symbol that is famously seen in most Korean photos actually stands for kimchi, not peace. You will be given kimchi when you order pizza, BBQ and even just a beer.
As for radish. Before arriving here I thought radish was a small red vegetable that went in salads. Here it is a serious business. If its not cabbage kimchi it will be radish kimchi and if its not radish kimchi on the table then a plate of radish will be bought anyway. The radishes grown here are as long as your arm, white in colour and not my cup of tea but I’ve met many westerners that love it so its worth a shot.
The question everyone will want to know when you arrive is ‘do you like KimChi’. Whether you hate it or love it, it is wise to answer yes because the real question they are asking you is ‘Do you like Korea’. Hopefully if you are lying then they won’t put a huge pile of the stuff in front of you but I’ve learnt during my time in this lovely country that it will probably happen anyway.

You also will be faced with these critters.

5. They have different tastes –

Now I understand how reading that may seem like the most obvious tip in the world, in fact it is just an agreed upon inevitability when you travel to a new country since we all have our own cuisines but I’m not referring to national dishes, I’m referring to western food. When you travel and you decide to give in and try the western delights (don’t judge me, I’ve been here a year and a half and sometimes you miss home) you expect the familiar items to taste, well familiar. In Korea this may not be the case. Take for example a trip to a bakery. The bakeries here are my downfall. Hundreds of choices all beautifully displayed and every item looking tempting but sometimes you will be tricked. It may look like delicious garlic bread that you’d eat with some pasta but in fact it has a sugar glaze over the entire thing. It may look like a delicious fruit tart with strawberries on it but its actually tomatoes in strawberry jam and of course it is never custard, its always sweet potato mash. These are difference you come to love and I know I will miss some of them (not the garlic sugar bread, you can keep that.) but when you expect the taste of home it is sometimes shocking.

Paris Baguette – yum!

These are just five small glances into the world of Korean food. During our time here we have discovered many nuances to the food culture. Sometimes lee and I agree full heatedly about whether these nuances are a good thing and other times we will disagree vastly ( The tall one loves garlic sugar bread….ukkkk) . Like the country itself the food is interesting and culturally revealing. I would recommend everyone try it. After all even if you come and hate the food there is always McDonalds that delivers to your door.*
*if you are ordering a Mc D’s in Korea then get the Korean double bulgogi with cheese burger. It is fantastic. See, you can’t escape Korean food even in McDonalds.