I was able to fly to one of my all time favourite destinations – South Korea. I have read so much about it, so I was very keen to learn more about the people, food and culture. Mostly food of course. I found some very cheap flights on the internet, so I just went for it. Even though it was winter time and “only” for 11 days – could have stayed much longer. This is not a travel guide to South Korea, this is more an article about my findings and thoughts of the South Korean culture.
When I am traveling, I mostly try to find traditional and local food. I can go to trendy or fancy restaurants at home, I do not need to travel to Korea for that. It is way more exciting to search for the origin of a food culture and try the food they have been eating for ages.
The first thing I thought of when I was walking around Seoul, is the fusion of Korean history and the modern world. There were so many historical Temples and older buildings right in the center of Seoul. But right next to them they have built skyscrapers where thousands of people work. It was interesting to see how Koreans try to hold on to traditions – going to church/temples (roughly 50% christian and 50% buddhism), Feng Shui, manners and customs – but on the other side aspire a modern way of life “by being a metropole”, useing a lot of technical tools and integrating more western food into their diets.
When I have to think of one remarkable word that decribes the Korean food culture, I would say “KIMCHI”. I know, I know there is so much more then kimchi – but it was the most defining dish I had. Koreans serve kimchi as a side dish nearly everywhere. If you doesn´t know what kimchi is – kimchi is a fermented chinese cabbage which got mixed with radish, ginger, garlic, loads of chili powder, herbs and fish sauce. The Koreans used as a vitamin C source during the winter. Because of its preservation it lasts for a long time.
Korea has a very social food culture, which I really love. Nobody just orders for themself – you order different dishes you like and you share them all. I mean, how selfish does the western food culture appear, where everybody orders induvidually and just eat their own plate. The Korean style of eating is so communicative and sociable – you get to taste everything and can talk about the different dishes.
The main components of Korean dishes are fish and pork. Fish is a huge part of the korean food culture, as Korea is a peninsula and surrounded by water. I have never seen such a vibrant fish market like the Noryangjin fish market in Seoul. In comparison to the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo (which is the biggest in the world) it seemed a bit more casual and people treated it more like a grocery store, which I prefer. The first thing you will notice is that you wont smell fish a all, which means that all the fish is completely fresh. As a tourist it is mostly depressing to go to very good markets and grocery stores, because normaly you stay in a hotel and have no chance to cook. But the Noryangjin fish market sorted that in a very clever way – you can buy your fish downstairs at the market stalls and bring it upstairs to one of the many small restaurants and they prepare the fish you bought to your liking (barbeque, sashimi etc.). I went for wonderful prawns.
Meat in general appears in huge quantaty in Korean dishes – soups, grilled, fried or dried into jerky. The most common one is definitely pork. It is cheap and very versatile. There are so many places where you can have Korean Barbeque – the most popular type is pork belly. They fry the pork belly on a very hot grill and serve many little side dishes like different salad leafs, kimchi, sauces, mixed pickles and garlic. What you do is, you take a salad leaf and place in some sauce, pickles, grilled garlic, the pork and fold it and eat it like a small burrito – so so good! A lot of people were a little bit disgusted because you are able to eat things like pork foot, head, organs and innards. To be honest, I am not a big fan organs and innards myself – BUT I admire that Koreans are, because they use all parts of the animal and they are all edible. I believe by useing/eating all parts of the animal, you show more respect for it.
Another dish that poppes up very frequently are dumplings. I love dumplings in all kind of varieties – in soups, fried or steamed. If I had to decide which dish I had to eat for the rest of my life, it would be dumplings! So I was even more happy to see a lot of dumpling places in Korea. You are able to spot them even if you are far away because there will be a whole lot of steam in and around the place. Most of the dumplings I had were filled with ground pork. They mix the pork with either spring onions or kimchi. If you are lucky you will see the staff prepare the dumplings in an open work space – it is ridiculous how fast they can fold one dumpling. By the time they make 10 dumplings I would probably still be struggling with my first one. My recommendation: try some steamed dumplings – they are tasty, heart warming and fun to eat with chop sticks.
I believe that soups play a huge role in the all asian countries. I have noticed, that people eat way more soups in this part of the world – as a starter, side dish or after the main course. Because it was really cold outside, I had loads of soups. If you like it a bit more spicy try the Kimchi Jjigae. They mix normal Kimchi with a broth and add some noodles, tofu or meat. If you like it a bit more neutral go for the Tteokguk – Korean rice cake soup with meat, sea weed and herbs. Sometimes you will get a soup as a side dish without even asking for it.
All in all I really enjoyed my trip to Korea. I met lovely and friendly people and felt very welcomed. There is so much to explore in terms of culture, food and history. 11 days weren´t enough to fill the whole picture of South Korea, but to get a small taste of how this country does work. Even though sometimes it was kind of difficult to communicate in english, there was always a way to figure things out. People really seem to be interested in learning more english and about the european culture. This was definitely not my last trip to Korea!
Kamsa Hamnida (Thank You)
CC 