11 Must-Try Foods When Travelling To South Korea

The first thing people tend to mention when you say you are going to Korea is ‘oh I hope you are not going to North Korea’. It seems that South Korea gets completely disregarded as a country you can visit. And I must admit I was a bit hesitant when my partner suggested for us to go during our travels. I didn’t know much about the country, the culture or the food. However, I was so pleased that we decided to visit when we got there though. There is so much interesting history to learn, so much culture and you can’t beat seeing K-Pop live on the streets. But above all else, the food is absolutely amazing and quite unique to the country. You can definitely see Japanese influence from the food but they have put their own twist on it and made it their own. 

Dishes To Try In South Korea

In this blog, I am going to discuss the top foods I recommend trying whilst you are visiting South Korea to give you a taste of Korean food. 

Kimchi  

It’s going to be fairly difficult to visit Korea and not try kimchi. It’s served everywhere with pretty much every meal. It’s fermented cabbage, in the Korean paste called gochujang, which is essential like a chilli paste. Now each family will make theirs slightly different and depending on how long it’s been fermenting will influence the taste. Initially, this dish was made as a way to preserve vegetables over the winter but now it has become a staple of Korean cuisine with it being a tradition to make each autumn. Now if you’ve had kimchi in the UK, you’ll notice that the flavour profile is a lot stronger and more sour in Korea than what you get in the UK. Mainly due to the fact that it’s fermented longer in Korea. It’s such a great addition to a meal, as it cuts through a lot of richness especially if you are having a meat dish. Not to mention, all the health benefits for your gut with eating fermented foods. 

Army Stew  

Now this dish has the vibe of being a uni student and smoking a little too much in an evening and making food at 3am. But there is actually a lot of history to the dish. This dish was created during the aftermath of the Korean war, where there was limited food and they used American military rations like spam and Korean staples like kimchi to make this beloved dish. This dish is a spicy broth, filled with spam, sausage, instant noodles, rice cakes, tofu and kimchi. If you are lucky you might even get some cheese on top. It’s such a hearty dish and you truly don’t know what you are going to get in each mouthful. I must admit me and my partner absolutely loved this dish, it was comforting and made the perfect hangover food if you had too many sojus the night before. 

Korean BBQ  

If you’ve heard of any Korean dish before then it’s probably Korean BBQ, as that’s mainly the kind of Korean restaurants that are found in the UK. If you’ve not heard of it, there is a fire pit or a grill in the middle of the table. You are then given a selection of different cut meats to cook yourself on the grill. There is usually a variety of different pickles and fermented style salads that are served alongside the meat. You will also a variety of sauces, herbs and salts to dip the meat in. And sometimes you will have betel leaves which you can wrap the meat in which I absolutely love - it adds a beautiful flavour to the meat! You will get different levels of Korean BBQs, you will have the unlimited options where you can help yourself to as much meat and sides as you want in a set time frame. Typically the meat does tend to be of lower quality in these venues. Or you get higher end places where you will have a set platter of meat you can order. The meat will be a higher quality, with cuts like wagyu beef and you will also get a set amount of sides alongside the meat. The best place we went to was Doma in Hongdae, Seoul. It was absolutely delicious and the quality of meat was fantastic. We had different cuts of wagyu steak which was accompanied with sesame oil, wasabi and herbs de Provence. A unexpectedly brilliant combo. 

Gibimipap  

You’ll be able to find this in many convenience stores, as well as smaller restaurants or stalls. It is very similar to a sushi roll but it’s a lot bigger and packed with a variety of ingredients. You have the sushi rice and nori around the outside. Then on the inside there will be a variety of pickled vegetables and then there will also be different meats inside as well rather than any fish. It will then be cut into ready to eat slices. It’s the perfect snack or quick grab lunch to go. 

Korean Fried Chicken   

Be warned because this is probably going to ruin fried chicken for the rest of your life. It’s the best fried chicken I have ever had. The coating is super crispy and the inside of the chicken is so juicy and moist. The trick is that they fry their chicken in olive oil, which means even if you have it plain it’s still got so much flavour. Although they do go all out with the different sauces that they coat the fried chicken in. There is the classic gochujang sauce which I definitely recommend trying. But there are all sorts of flavours you can try. We even had corn and cheese style fried chicken which was super interesting. You will find picked daikon and kimchi to help yourself to, which is definitely needed to cut through the grease. And of course these are best served with an ice cold beer. 

Soybean Stew  

This is a classic and quite simple dish found in Korea. It’s essentially a stew with tofu, vegetables and sometimes minced meat in a super tasty broth. It’s typically served as a side dish to add on with Korean BBQs or you can get it on its own in a restaurant. There is also lots of different varieties, such as kimchi stew which is made with kimchi. It’s hearty and comforting, especially during the winter months in Korea. 

Bingsu  

This is a great dish to have in the summer months in Korea and you’ll certainly be craving it as it can get extremely hot in Korea! It’s shaved ice with different flavouring, fresh fruit and sometimes whipped cream as well. You might even find some red beans in there as well. 

Tteokbokki  

You have to try this dish when visiting Korea, you’ll see it served everywhere especially in markets. It’s rice cakes stewed in a spicy gochujang sauce and sometimes served with cheese on top. The rice cakes have an almost like mochi texture but more chewy. And they are just perfect vessels to the extremely tasty sauce that it is served with. A great street food snack!  

Hottoki 

 If you have a sweet tooth, then you’ll love this dish. Again this is typically found in markets or street vendors. It has a similar texture to a donut but flatter and more crispy. The inside is filled with a caramel, peanuts and cinnamon. Then the outside is coated with sugar. This is a super tasty little dessert to grab whilst on the go.Now be warned, do not make the mistake I did and just bite into this like I did. Unless you want third degree burns on the inside of your mouth and be in agony in the next few days. Make a little tear in the pastry so that the inside caramel can cool a little! 

Soju  

 This is Korean’s spirit that they make out of rice. Similar to how Japanese have sake, Koreans have soju. Now I definitely think soju  wins out of all the local spirits I have tried. The great thing is they have so many flavours as well that you can try. It’s not as strong as normal spirits, sitting at 20-25%. They are served in a 330ml bottle. You either shot the drink or pour some with beer, more commonly known as soju bomb. They are a perfect accompaniment to a Korean BBQ to cut through the meat and you’ll often find a lot of Koreans getting a bit lairy with a few soju bottles on the table. Now don’t be fooled by the lower percentage, this drink can creep up on you if you have a few bottles and you don’t want to end up like me passed out at a karaoke bar!! 

Mandu 

 I am a bit of a sucker for a dumpling, I love them and will order them whenever I see them on the menu. These are no exception, absolutely delicious!! Very similar shape and texture to a gyoza in Japan but they will be all steamed rather than fried to give a crispy bottom. The most common filling you will find is either pork and kimchi or just kimchi for vegetarian option. Do not miss out on trying these. You will find them in a lot of restaurants and in the markets. I recommend trying in a restaurant as they are more likely to be handmade. But if you see them in a market and they look homemade then definitely try them! 

Conclusion

The great thing about South Korean restaurants is all of them will have a flask of hot stock that you can help yourself too. As well as, kimchi and pickled daikon which are perfect accompaniments to a meal. As restaurants are quite small and don’t have much space, the tables are cleverly designed to have special compartments underneath for chopsticks, napkins and other utensils. Although be warned, chopsticks in Korea are exceptionally difficult as they are made out of metal, so you do need to be at an expert level to use them! 

South Korea has a variety of places to try food. There are small family run restaurants, high end restaurants and plenty of markets with different stalls. Similarly to Japan, there are also plenty of convenience stores like 7/11 or CU where there is plenty of tasty snacks to try. I definitely recommend going to all different kinds of places to get the full experience. 

After writing this blog, I already want to go back to South Korea and experience the food all over again. I hope this blog has tempted you to book that flight to South Korea and try all the amazing food. If you did like this blog make sure to send to your friends and family, so it can help them with their foodie adventures as well!