Seoul Food (& Drink)

Korea is a fascinating country, and has one of the most interesting (and yes baffling) cultures of the developed world. Their eating and drinking habits have felt some influence from the west, but they have retained most of their unique local characteristics. Korean dining is an adventure in itself, as is a visit to a local makkoli bar or soju tent. Read on and you'll be prepared!

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting around Seoul is a cinch: the subway is efficient and excellent, and it has plenty of signs and announcements in English. The bus and train systems are both good for long distances, though incredibly overbooked on holidays.

Of course you'll sometimes need to take a taxi, which means dealing with drivers who don't want to pick up foreigners and the fact that you'll have to speak Korean to direct them. Sometimes you're better off just walking for an hour.

This is the best hotel in Korea, the only true 5-star property in the country. (The Hyatt is good but the rooms are small. The Ritz-Carlton is nice, but the staff is not up to the level of their surroundings.)

Except for the ho-hum lobby, this is a fantastic property, from the surrounding gardens to the spectacular rooms. Restaurants are pricey, but the selection is great and quality is high. Since this hotel is owned by Samsung, it's filled with the newest and best gadgets. The TV volume decreases when you pick up the phone. The lights raise and dim gradually--a big plus when you get up in the middle of the night.

If you can afford it or are going to Korea on someone else's tab, you can't go wrong here.

Budget hotels in Korea are generally expensive by Asian standards. It's pretty difficult to find a decent room for under $25 per night, especially since freelance English teachers often have the cheapest ones booked up on a long-term basis.

The good news is that the room you do get will generally be comfortable and cozy. Most small Korean hotels have 'ondol' rooms, where the source of heat is a warm floor. It's wonderful to sit or sleep on the floor and feel the warmth underneath you. Most hotels have a hot shower of some kind in your room, usually a western toilet, and clean sheets and towels. You can sometimes bargain a little if things are slow, but don't look for dramatic savings.

There are no real romantic hideaways or charming inns in Korea. This is a country where everything is done in groups--to go somewhere on your own is considered just plain anti-social.

Sanchon is one of the few vegetarian restaurants around, especially when it comes to Korean food. It was opened by a former Buddhist monk and means "Mountain Village." It's a rustic old Korean house, complete with whole tree beams, wooden floors, and traditional decorations. You'll end up with about 20 bowls of various vegetarian items on your table after a soup course and you pick and choose from the lot. You can order traditional drinks, including some alchoholic versions that must have gotten the monks pretty toasted.

After the meal is complete, you'll be treated to some traditional dance performances. It's a small place, so these are small group ensembles in an intimate setting. The experience will set you back about $30 each for dinner, including the show. It's a popular spot with tourists and businessmen, so make reservations in advance.

Korea could have easily become a nation with no identity when it comes to food. The country was heavily influenced by China, invaded by the Mongols, and occupied several times by Japanese rulers not known for their cultural sensitivity. Despite all this, their cuisine has come through it all unscathed, remaining distinct from those of its neighbors and historic trading partners.

Korean food is somewhat of a mystery to most foreigners. While Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and and even Thai restaurants abound in the US, eateries from this Asian nation primarily serve immigrants or expatiriates from the homeland. While these restaurants sometimes succeed with the general public in Manhattan or on the West Coast, the majority are located in Korean neighborhoods and filled with local customers. Perhaps this is because many of the staple foods are an acquired taste, or that they're difficult to describe to the uninitiated. Besides, when it comes to advertising, they're not exactly photogenic.

Kimchi
Take kimchi, which is served with virtually every meal. Kimchi is a generic word referring to any spicy pickled vegetable concoction, but the most common type is made from cabbage fermented in a brine that includes red chili paste and loads of garlic. It won't make you sweat, but it has quite a bite. The fiery, blood-red pepper sauce contrasts with the white or transluscent cabbage leaves, forming a mixture that doesn't exactly make your mouth water at first glance. Other versions are made with green beans, large white radishes, bean sprouts, and a variety of unique local vegetables. In Korea, it's not unusual to find several different bowls of kimchi laid out with a meal, even in the Chinese and Japanese restaurants. While the taste takes a bit of getting used to, most expatriates living in Korea eventually end up enjoying it regularly.

Bulgogi and Kalbi The dishes that westerners take to most quickly, however, are usually bulgogi and kalbi--both made from beef. The first is thinly-sliced, marinated beef quickly fried and served with rice or vegetables. Kalbi is marinated beef ribs grilled over a fire at the table. Vents carry away the smoke, while customers take care of flipping the small pieces of meat and removing them with their chopsticks. You lay the morsels in romaine lettuce or sesame leaves, throw in some kimchi and pepper sauce, then stuff the roll into your mouth. There are also many pork kalbi restaurants in Korea, which tend to be a little cheaper.

Healthy Cuisine
Korean food is generally quite healthy. Meat is usually eaten in small portions that can be picked up with chopsticks and it is always complemented by a large number of vegetable dishes. With all the pickling and soy sauce, sodium levels are high, but meals are generally well-balanced, high in fiber, and low in fat, calories, and sugar. Vegetarians get plenty of protein, since tofu and other soy products are prominent ingredients. The harmony of spices and seasonings is very important and many ingredients are also chosen for their health and medicinal benefits.

Family Style
Numerous lunch items are prepared individually since many restaurants serve takeout as well. Dinner meals, however, are eaten family-style. Diners pick at an assortment of dishes with metal chopsticks, or ladel soups or stews into their own individual bowls. Usually each person will have their own rice bowl and perhaps a clear soup, but everyone shares the other items. As you would expect from such a casual dining style, service is far from formal. Waitresses are generally mothers in an apron. To call one over, the proper term is not 'waitress,' but 'ahjuma'--the respectful term for a middle-aged or married woman. Food quality is consistently high from restaurant to restaurant and there are few layers of finery: the 'haemul tang' (mixed seafood soup) you order from a hole-in-the-wall place in a residential neighborhood will generally taste and look about the same as the version you would get in the fanciest restaurant in town. In either case, the 'cook' prepares and combines all the ingredients, but the cooking itself takes place at a burner on your table.

Vegetarian Fare
Strict vegetarians will have a tough time in Korea unless they're willing to stick to side dishes. About the only Korean vegetarians around are the most pious Buddhist monks. The whole concept is generally a mystery to everyone else. There are a few dishes that can be ordered without meat, but a vegetarian wanting to really sample a variety of Korean food would have to try one of the few Buddhist vegetarian restaurants in Seoul.

Those who eat seafood will have no problem, however, since being on a peninsula has made fish a common element in the diet. You can find seafood on any street or back alley, especially where people are drinking.

After the Japanese were finally forced out, udon noodle soups and raw fish were the culinary survivors. Udon, pronounced 'udong' here, is a popular lunch dish, while sushi and sashimi (known as hwae here) are the most expensive dinner options around. There has also been an interesting metamorphosis of rolled sushi--into a fishless rice and seaweed roll known as 'kimbap.' This ubiquitous snack food generally features ham, several vegetables or kimchi, pickled radish, and a bit of egg. Sometimes you can find a version with just kimchi and no ham.

As with many of its geographical neighbors, Korea is not a good place to order dinner by closing your eyes and pointing to something on the menu. What's considered edible here will often churn the stomachs of all but the most hearty foreigners. The locals gobble down bumpy sea urchins, insect larvae, and unidentifiable roots and fungi without a flinch, while smelly dried squid and rubbery octopus are considered drinking snacks here--the Korean equivalent of peanuts or nachos at the bar. One fear that is unfounded, however, is that Rover will end up on your plate. Yes, some people do eat dog here (as they do in China, Vietnam, and parts of other Asian countries), but only at specialized restaurants--at these places, that's all they serve.

In fact most restaurants in Korea are narrowly specialized places. One restaurant will serve only kal guk su (fresh noodle soup), while one next door may only serve fish. For obvious reasons, locals trying to host you in Seoul will want quite specific answers when they ask you what kind of food you'd like to sample. Restaurants that cater to lunch crowds serve a slighter greater variety, largely because there are a dozen or so set dishes that nearly every place serves during the day. The most common are probably pibimbap (rice and vegetables with a spicy sauce and a fried egg), kimchi chigae (a spicy stew with kimchi and pork), and soondubu (a spicy tofu and clam stew). The Koreanized Chinese restaurants feature fried rice, chopchae (stir-fried clear noodles, vegetables, and pork), and jajong myon (noodles, vegetables, and meat in a dark brown soy gravy). If you find a few standards that you enjoy, you'll be able to find a place to eat nearly anywhere.

There is a way, however, to try a wide variety of Korean food at one sitting: by going to a restaurant that serves han jong sheik, a Korean banquet meal. The simpler versions feature one or two main dishes and wide variety of side dishes. The most elaborate try to simulate a traditional royal meal, with thirty or more small bowls of different meats, seafood, soups, and vegetables. Korean restaurant menus in the US, of course, will generally offer more of an overview than you would normally find in a single spot in Seoul.

Water is served with all meals in Korea, but alcohol usually flows abundantly at dinner. Bottles get passed around, with everyone serving each other: except with familiar friends, it is customary that you don't pour for yourself. The (lousy) local beer is very popular, but the firewater of choice is soju, a sort of sweet vodka that you drink straight. It's only one small step up from rubbing alcohol and is drunk in shots. Considering that a 12-ounce bottle costs around $3.50 in a restaurant or less than a buck in stores, few people sip slowly. This is probably the reason that Jinro Soju outsells all other liquor brands in the world. Considering that it's a very local commodity (unlike Bacardi rum or Johnnie Walker Scotch), the per capita consumption rate is staggering--in more ways than one.

Korean drinking habits go back a long way: while one Shilla dynasty king was in the midst of a drinking game with his soldiers, a rival attacked the palace and quickly defeated the inebriated rulers.

Another popular beverage is makkoli, which is a milky fermented rice beverage that tastes much better than it looks. You will generally find it in more traditional restaurants and bars, with big clay crocks of it served in old-style Korean houses or in log cabins with fireplaces. You can also find a variety of unique folk liquors distilled from local fruits and flowers.

If you don't drink alcohol, you'll be considered a wuss, especially if you're at a business meeting. The idea is to get hammered with your friends and there is no stigma about 'holding your liquor. If everyone falls down or passes out while walking home, it's been a successful night!