The ultimate food guide for South Korea

South Korean food has become very popular, and there's a reason why. The flavor profiles are sweet, salty and spicy, and absolutely delicious. Korean food consists of a lot of saucy dishes and stews, and they are quite traditional too. Here are my favorite foods that you have to try when visiting South Korea.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Kimchi is the soul food of Korea, and it is usually served as a side dish. However, it is the main star of this dish and it is spicy. The rice is usually leftovers from the day before, and is used for this dish. It's served with a fried egg and sometimes even melted cheese: a perfect combination.

Sundae sausage soup

Sundae sausage is different from your regular sausage, because it includes cow or pork intestine and blood, mince meat, glass noodles and vegetables. However, don't be put off by the ingredients and give it a try. It's absolutely delicious in soup, because the soup is light yet flavorful, and has a peppery taste.

Dak-galbi

Dak-galbi means chicken rib, but this dish doesn't include chicken ribs - just chicken. The chicken is in a spicy or mild marinade, and is cooked in front of you as a stir fry dish. You can add melted cheese to dip your chicken in, and then turn this dish into a stir fried rice dish, which is also cooked in front of you.

Jajangmyeon

This is a famous Chinese-Korean dish and it is loved by the locals. If you watch K-dramas and movies, you might recognize this dish too. It is a noodle dish topped with a thick, black or brownish sauce that includes pork, potato, onion and chunjang.

Sundubu Jjigae

Korea has many hearty and healthy stews, and it even has its own category called 'jjigae'. It can be spicy or mild, and Sundubu means spicy tofu stew. It is a vegetarian dish, and mainly consists of tofu and vegetables in a spicy sauce, but there is also a version of this with seafood too.

Bossam

Bossam is a very popular dish that many locals eat, especially during the winter months because it pairs well with soju. Bossam is boiled pork slices served with side dishes such as kimchi and lettuce. Just like you would eat meat at a Korean BBQ restaurant, you would eat Bossam the same way. It also pairs well with oyster, which is why they're usually served together.

Tteokbokki

Tteokbokki is a famous street food that you can find in many food markets all over Korea. It is rice cake cooked in a spicy sauce with fishcake and boiled eggs. There are also modern versions of this dish, such as Tteokbokki cooked in rose or cream sauce, or topped with melted cheese. Many street food vendors also sell deep fried vegetables or seafood that pairs well with this dish. This type of street food is called 'Bunshik'.

Bibimbap

Traditionally, the monks used to eat this dish and it was mainly vegetarian. Now there are meat options such as beef bulgogi, and fish options such as tuna. There are also different versions of this dish depending on the province that you live in or visit. For example, in the Jeollado province, you can find Bibimbap served with beef tartar.

Bibimbap includes plain white rice, pickled and fresh vegetables, gochujang, dried seaweed and sometimes a fried egg. It is light and healthy, and all you have to do is mix the ingredients together by stirring it in a bowl. It usually comes with a side dish of a jjigae, as well as other pickled or fresh vegetables.