A Must Eat Food list in South Korea

The first thing a westerner ever think of Korean food is 'Kimchi'. Either you will like it or hate it because of its pungent smell and vinegary taste after been fermented for days-weeks. Well to me, there are various types of Kimchi and I have a few to recommend to eat. But first- let me introduce some of the common and typical dishes you will be eating if you ever do visit South Korea.

Bibimbap- One of Korea’s most wellknown dishes. It is a meal both delicious and nutritious. Depending on the ingredients used, bibimbap can be a meat or vegetarian dish. Different regions have their own unique versions of bibimbap, but the most famous is the one from Jeonju-si in Jeollabukdo. The dish has changed over the years – most notably with today’s practice of using gochujang (red pepper paste) instead of soy sauce as in ancient times –likely in order to better savor the taste of each individual ingredient.

Samgyetang - Ginseng chicken soup - hearty, healthy and delicious, it's made up of stuffing a small chicken with ginseng, glutinous rice, garlic, jujubes, spring onions and chestnuts then slow-cooking the ingredients until the meat is tender. The chicken broth is slightly bitter in taste with the ginseng but good for rejuvenating tired bodies. 

Tteokboki - Spicy rice & fish cakes is a cheap and popular dish among tourists, students and workers. Most of the side stalls and carts around Seoul will be selling them at anytime of the day. Most tteokboki vendors also sell fish cakes,sundae and fritters with it. Visit the Sindang station (near to Dongdaemun) where is famous for its Tteokboki Alley. 

Jeon - A Korean style pancake where it can be spring onion, kimchi or seafood version. Bindaetteok is another version of pancake comprised of pork, kimchi and grinded mung bean. Although it is originally from the Hwanghaedo and Pyeongando regions of North Korea but it is now enjoyed throughout South Korea as well. You can customarily dip the pancakes in soy or other sauces to improve its flavor.

Kimchi- the signature dish of South Korea. It comes in various styles- Korean cabbage, radish, pumpkin, onion, and other vegetables with chili powder, crushed garlic and salted seafood, which is then left to ferment. Kimchi is a must in any Korean meal that no restaurants are charging them for side dishes. 

Samgyeopsal- grilled pork belly is a popular dish for youngsters and any event. It means 3 layered meat (sam-gyeogpsal) in Korean. It is an expensive meal and typically grilled in a pan, then wrapped in lettuce or sesame leaf with garlic and ssamjang (soybean dipping sauce). Often people are seen eating samgyeopsal with Soju. aarrrgh... 

Korean Fried Chicken- Lately fried chicken is a hit in Korean. The chicken meat and bits are deep fried and then coated either with spicy garlic sauce, soy sauce or its original taste. It is often served with maekju (beer). That's where you hear people ordering Chi-Maek (Chicken & Maekju) There are some restaurant outlets that serve these dishes such as Two-Two Chicken and Kyochon Chicken. 

Bungeoppang- it's a red bean fish cake. Bungeoppang was first introduced into Korea by the Japanese during the Colonial Korea in the 1930s. There are also bungeoppang-shaped waffles filled with ice cream and pat (sweetened and boiled red beans). These waffles are usually mass-produced and sold by retailers, not by open-air food vendors. They sometimes come in frozen sold at mart and departmental stores. This snack is popular during winter.