AWESOMOISO
You are coming to Korea and want to know what to eat before you get here. What each dish tastes like, what changes from shop to shop, what it costs, and which city is worth the trip for it.
It came from Shandong, landed at Incheon port, and turned into something China does not serve — the moment a caramel-coloured paste arrived in the 1950s. The history, why it is sweet, the six versions on the menu, and how Koreans actually order it.
Korean fried chicken travelled the world, but chicken in Korea is seven dishes and only two are fried. Samgyetang, dakdoritang, Andong jjimdak, dakgalbi and dakbal, grouped by cooking method.
Bangeo in winter, dodari in spring, mineo in summer, jeoneo in autumn. What Korean raw fish is actually in season, what you will really be ordering, and how the buy-downstairs-eat-upstairs market system works.
Pork is the spine of everyday Korean eating. Seventeen dishes grouped by what the kitchen does to the pig — grilled, simmered, boiled, fried, stir-fried, and the offal, which is its own decision.
Nine plates arrive that you did not order — and yes, they are free. What comes unasked is included; what you request goes on the bill. Plus how to check your kimchi is actually Korean.
“Korean BBQ” is a type of restaurant, not a dish. Samgyeopsal won — but marinated pork ribs were king a generation ago, and they still reward anyone who learns to grill them. How to order, and how not to burn them.
Ask a Korean which chicken brand is best and you get a question back: which kind? Korea has four number ones — fried, sweet, soy and powder — with the runners-up for each.
Most people outside Korea know one thing about Busan: a zombie film was named after it. Here is the rest — a beach with a real city attached, and food shaped by everyone who once ran there.
Rice in soup sounds like a mistake if you did not grow up with it. In Korea it is a 200-year-old format with dozens of versions. How it works, why it exists, and which one to order first.
Yang-gopchang, makchang and gopchang jeongol — grilled, grilled, boiled. What each one actually is, why the seasoning is a preference and not a region, and the one thing that separates a good shop from a bad one.