Ronit Gruper
Food is culture, and in Korea- the culture is food. When a Korean greets you with the question “have you eaten?”, or “bap meogeossoyo?” in Korean, he really means to ask how are you.
Koreans will not miss an opportunity to eat; they believe eating together brings people closer, and that meals are an inseparable part of any social gathering.
Food is an inseparable part of any social gathering. by: Ronit Gruper
Kimchi Contest by Jeon Han (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Korean cuisine boasts a rich and ancient history, and it is a source of immense pride for the Korean people. It is healthy, and hundreds of years old documents that tell about Korean cooking traditions still exist, explaining what are the exact benefits of its ingredients.
Most identified with the Korean cuisine is the Kimchi, a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. It is low in calories and high on dietary fibres and vitamins, and in fact it is considered a superfood worldwide.
So what if on the streets of modern Seoul you can find numerous branches of McDonalds, KFC, and even the largest number of Starbucks stores in the world, these international influences cannot overshadow the local cuisine; Koreans still mostly eat Korean food, made with local ingredients.
A creepy McDonald’s ad in Itaewon by Andrew Currie (CC BY 2.0) & KFC in KFC In South Korea
Food by city
Seoul, the capital, does not have a speciality food of its own, but as the capital of Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), as well as the capital of the modern South-Korea, it is a center where foods from all around the country are gathered2. The royal families of the Joseon dynasty, who lived in the capital and governed the Korean peninsula, enjoyed the traditional meals of the royal cuisine. The monarchy may no longer exist, since Joseon dynasty has fallen and Korea became a republic, but the secrets of their meals are still being researched to this day.
The royal food table was served with 12 dishes, including rice and soup, as well as stew, hot pot, kimchi and sauces. Both white rice and sweet rice were served, and the most common soups were miyeok-guk (seaweed soup) and gomtang (beef bone soup)3. A tourist in Seoul today can find several places that serve traditional royal meals, and can enjoy royalty food just like the monarchs of old did.
Korean style is neither childish nor too cute – they always walk on the fine line of delicate cuteness.
Bibimbap from Jeonju
Jeonju, another city in South Korea, in the North Jeolla Province, is considered by many the “food capital” of Korea. Unlike Seoul, Jeonju does have its regional dish, which is maybe only second famous around the world after the kimchi – the bibimbap. “Bap” in Korean means both meal and cooked rice, and “bibim” means mixed; and like its name, bibimbap is a rice dish served with vegetables, gochujang (Korean fermented chili pepper paste), topped with an egg, all mixed together.
Bibimbap festival in Jeonju
The vegetables are mainly soybean sprouts, along with local seasonal vegetables such as greens, lotus root, bamboo shoots, squash and mushrooms2. The vegetables, arranged on top of the rice in contrasting colours, and topped with the egg yolk in the middle, create an impressive and aesthetic dish.
A trip to Jeonju is a must for every bibimbap fan, and during October there’s even the Jeonju Bibimbap Festival.
In Andong, which is located in the north of Gyeongsang Province, was written by Lady Chang (1598-1680)one of the earliest Korean extant cook-books, consisting 146 recipes. Andong is the origin of many Korean dishes, but perhaps the most foreign-taste-buds-friendly dish is the Andong-jjimdak. Literally translates to “steamed chicken of Andong”, jjimdak contains chicken braised in Korean soy-sauce, with vegetables, glass sweet-potato noodles, and sometimes with tteok (rice cakes), mandu (Korean dumplings) and more. The savoury taste of jjimdak makes it a favourite of Koreans as well as non-Koreans.
Andong jjimdak, served with mandu topping by Ronit Gruper
Andong jjimdak, served with tteok by Ronit Gruper
Another form of traditional cuisine that has developed in Korea is the Buddhist temple cuisine. Temple food refers to the food eaten daily at Buddhist temples even today, with its 1700-year-old tradition. Koreans love their meat, and it is extremely hard to find meals in Korea that are entirely devoid of it. However, since Korean Buddhism forbids meats completely, when you are traveling around Korea and find yourself in need of a strictly vegetarian meal, temple food will be your solution. Korean temple food has also traditionally meant that monks and nuns do not use five pungent vegetables (onions, garlic, chives, green onions and leeks), because they hinder spiritual practice.
Korean temple cuisine by Richy (CC BY-NC 2.0)
About the author:
Ronit Gruper, a Korean Studies BA student, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Yonsei University, Seoul, the owner of the Facebook page @hansikisrael and Instagram @ronitgruper, and a hopeless Korean cuisine foodie.
