Korea is a paradise for food lovers. The country’s rice fields, crop fields, mountains and seas are rich sources of diverse food ingredients, which has led to the creation of very diverse dishes. While doenjang, ganjang, gochujang and other basic condiments maintain balance in the center, the ingredients are steamed, grilled, fried and prepared in various other ways that Koreans have developed to keep them fresh over its four distinct seasons. These foods comforted the souls of Koreans who had to do everything to survive the turbulent modern history of the peninsula. In fact, the importance of meals in Korea is reflected in the percentage of Korean greetings related to meals. In this sense, a culinary journey through Korea also provides insight into local Korean cultures.

Gwangjang Market

To fully discover Korean culinary culture, you must visit traditional markets. Then, in a warm atmosphere, visitors do not hesitate to taste the Korean cuisine that the locals love.

Gwangjang Market in Jongno, Seoul has historical significance as it is Korea’s first permanent market with over 100 years of history. The taste of a finger-sized mini gimbap dipped in mustard sauce is very addictive, attracting people with its strong magnetism. Other famous dishes include beef tartare and mung bean pancakes.

Recently, a new wind of change has blown through the market. “365 Iljang (365 Days of Operation),” a grocery store that opened a business in the market in October 2021, attracts customers with its youthful sensibility. The store sells wine, craft beer, cheese, butter and even market-themed products. Notably, Gwangjangsijang 1905 craft beer, created in collaboration with a craft brewery, is only available in stores.

Tongin Market

Located in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Tongin Market offers people a unique experience that cannot be had anywhere else by tasting various foods. It’s because of “Yeopjeon dosirak”.

Dosirak literally means a lunch box. Yeopjeon is a Korean brass coin with a square cut in the middle and was used during the Joseon Dynasty. The coin is not used in Korea, but can be used as currency in the Tongin market. When the customer buys yeopjeon, a lunch box is provided, which serves as a wallet of sorts, and people can enjoy the different experience of exchanging yeopjeon for the food they want to buy while browsing the market .

The market offers different kinds of simple and simple food items. They include rice and soup, the staple food of Korean people, as well as side dishes such as spicy rice cakes, grilled rib patties, rice balls and omelet rolls.

Jeonju Food Tour

Jeonju is a city that Koreans are also willing to visit to taste its dishes. This city has long developed its culinary culture thanks to the fresh seafood acquired from the West and South Seas and the crops harvested from the fertile lands.

Jeonju-style bibimbap is a must-try food in Jeonju. It is prepared by first cooking rice with Jeonju bean sprouts, then mixing the cooked rice with every handful of fresh ingredients including egg yolk, gingko nuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, nuts and vegetables.

Jeonju Hanjeongsik (Korean table d’hôte) is a menu with more than 30 side dishes, including soup, stew, seasoned vegetables and salty seafood, all arranged on one table. This represents the generous heart and spirit of the Korean people.

Located in Samcheon-dong, Seosin-dong and Gyeongwon-dong, Jeonju Makgeolli alleys are waiting for their visitors to feel free to taste makgeolli (rice wine). Each order of a makgeolli kettle is served with 20 kinds of dishes and appetizers.

In addition, Jeonju also has its unique food culture called “gamaek”, which is short for “gagae (corner shop) maekju (beer)”. Jeonju is famous for its small convenience stores or kiosks equipped with several tables, where people can buy cold beer and drink it with some appetizers such as grilled dried squid, dried pollack fillets, and snacks served with the Jeonju’s unique seasoning. Thanks to the growing popularity of gamaek, the Gamaek Festival has been held every year since 2015.

Sokcho, seafood paradise

As a bustling port city on the east coast of Sokcho, Gangwon-do boasts abundant seafood from the East Sea, offering a variety of fish, squid and shrimp dishes, and much more.

The fried shrimp alley near Daepohang Port is a Sokcho must-see for tourists. The fresh shrimps are fried on site and their crispy taste is therefore excellent.

In addition, visitors can taste various dishes such as sliced ​​raw squid, stuffed squid, moray eel soup, spicy red snow crab and grilled fish near the Sokcho Tourist Fish Market, the Wharf of ‘a raft-shaped platform boat called “gaetbae”, “Daepohang Port and Dongmyeonghang Port.

Although not seafood, frozen fried chicken bites called dak gangjeong are also a representative food in Sokcho. This crispy, crunchy dish is made from fried bites of chicken, which are then covered in a sweet or spicy sauce boiled down to a thick consistency.

Busan Food Tour

Busan is a city optimized for food travel thanks to convenient public transportation and an abundance of food everywhere.

Jagalchi Market, well known for its slogan “Oiso (Come), Boiso (See) and Saiso (Buy)”, is the largest fish market in Korea. It’s full of slices of raw fish, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, shellfish, grilled fish and other seafood. Its signature dishes, difficult to enjoy elsewhere, include briquette-grilled hagfish.

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Square, Nampo-dong Food Alley and Gukje Market are street food havens. It is recommended to try seed cakes filled with sugar, fish cake skewers dipped in soup, and spicy glass noodles mixed with fresh vegetables.

Jeju Traditional Food

Jeju Island, one of the most popular destinations for Koreans, has developed unique local dishes due to its geographical location far from the mainland. Rather than cooking with various ingredients or adding various spices, most dishes are simply cooked to preserve the original flavors of the ingredients.

Typical folk foods include black pork grilled over charcoal with a chewy texture, oozing with juices; gulf grass soup made with pork and meat broth, gulf grass and buckwheat flour; and omegi rice cake and omegi liquor made from glutinous millet, which was once the staple food of Jeju residents.

Udo peanuts grown in the sea breeze of Udo Island are delicious even if eaten with the skin and also enjoyed in the form of Udo peanut ice cream or Udo peanut makegolli.

Tea plantations in Boseong

Boseong is Korea’s largest tea-producing region, with 4,000 tea plantations, and is a perfect place for tea lovers or those interested in traditional Korean tea culture. Most tea plantations organize tea-related programs so that visitors can enjoy various experiences such as tasting green tea, picking tea leaves, and brewing green tea, including Korean tea ceremony.

Otherwise, just enjoying tea at a tea cafe inside the tea plantation and appreciating the beautiful scenery makes for a satisfying trip.

Service area food court

In Korea, express service areas are highly valued as multi-purpose spaces that offer much more than just a break on the road. Each service area reflects the unique culture of the locations, serving as new tourist destinations.

For example, Andong Service Area in Andong, famous for its traditional crafts, has an Andong Cultural Experience Center designed to display crafts. Yeoju Service Area in Yeoju, well-known for its ceramics, has a pottery experience center where tourists are allowed to fire pottery. The food court is not only a place to satisfy one’s hunger, but it offers a variety of dishes intended to showcase the representative local culinary culture. This allows tourists to taste local delicacies with comfort and ease.

Gangneung Coffee Street

There is a cluster of about 30 cafes called Gangneung Coffee Street or Anmok Coffee Street near Anmok Beach in Gangneung. Since 2000, Gangneung has become a coffee mecca as the first generation of baristas who had ruled the Korean coffee scene began to settle in Gangneung. Most of them are coffee roasters. They roast the beans directly, offering a variety of fresh coffee aromas and tastes differentiated from those of franchised coffee shops. As everyone talks about, Gangneung is truly known as a coffee town.

In addition to Gangneung Coffee Street, Gangneung has developed a wide range of coffee-related contents, including a coffee museum, a coffee factory, and a barista academy.