The Korean entertainment industry made the country well-known overseas, with K-Pop and K-Drama. However, there is much more to Korean culture than just its entertainment. While it did play a big role in raising the popularity of Korea worldwide, other sides of Korean culture are worth discovering. May it be its history, its language, or even its gastronomy. Korea is a country with tons of delicious foods, and whether you're at home, or traveling to Korea, you should give it a try.
Some Korean dishes aren't hard to cook by yourself, so you can easily treat yourself to some delicious Korean food, especially with the year-end festivities coming up, make sure to treat yourself to something nice and tasty. Even if your main interest in Korea lies in its entertainment industry, you've probably seen or heard about Korean food, for example, K-Dramas are full of wonderful dishes on their tables. If you were curious about these foods you saw on TV, here is your chance to discover more about them. Here are 7 of the best Korean dishes seen in K-Dramas.
1. JjiGae
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JjiGae are some sort of soup and are usually based on Tofu or Kimchi. The Tofu soup has a non-spicy version, however, it holds a different name than JjiGae. You've probably seen this dish before in the popular K-Drama "Itaewon Class" when Park Saeroi (Park SeoJun) and his team go for a meal together. It is a delicious dish, perfect for the winter season as well due to its hot soup. JjiGae is a very common dish in Korea and can be found very easily in Korean restaurants. However, this one might be hard to do at home because of its unique earthenware pot. This special pot is what cooks and boils the ingredients, and it is what gives the JjiGae its distinguished taste.
2. Tteokbokki
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Tteokboki, or rice cake, is a not-miss in terms of Korean food. We've seen this dish in many dramas, for example in "Squid Game", when Seong KiHoon (Lee JungJae) offers his daughter some tteokbokki for her birthday as it is all he can afford. Tteokbokki can be either a full meal or a simple snack, which is why it can be found in Pochas, a little street food booth usually operated by the elderly. Tteokbokki usually comes with a spicy sauce, but some buffet places in Korea offer various options such as black bean paste sauce, cream sauce, and more. Tteokbokki is also very common in Korea, but you can also find some overseas sometimes, if you do, you simply have to boil them in hot water, then add your favorite sauce to it, and voila!
3. Korean BBQ
TVing / Naver Blog
How can we talk about the best Korean food without mentioning BBQ? It is simply impossible. Beef, pork or chicken, you name it, all options are available. While Koreans tends to go for pork barbecue more often either due to personal preferences or its cheaper price, beef barbecue is the best of them all. If you're a meat lover, you have to try the Korean beef barbecue, it might look pricey, but the taste makes it all worth it. Many K-Dramas also have a barbecue scene, after office hours, the teams tend to gat and drink at the barbecue place. But the example we have is slightly different. Indeed, there was also a barbecue scene in the K-Drama "It's Okay To Not Be Okay" when Ko MoonYoung (Seo YaeJi) and Moon GangTae (Kim SooHyun) go for dinner together.
4. Naengmyeon
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You surely know about the popular Korean dish Ramyeon, but have you heard of Naengmyeon before? It is a popular noodle-based dish that can be found and eaten all year round. It is composed of noodles made out of flour and starch from various ingredients, topped with vegetables, and soaked in cold water. This plate is especially appreciated during summer as it is fresh and filling. While it is not as popular as ramyeon overseas, it is not less delicious, as we can see in "Weightlifting Fairy Kim BokJoo", BokJoo (Lee SungKyoung) herself seems to enjoy this dish very much.
5. Jjajjangmyeon
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This plate originates from China but is now considered a Korean food considering how much Koreans eat it, and love it. This dish also consists of noodles, but this time, they're mixed with black bean paste. It has a slightly sweet taste, making it unique compared to other noodle dishes that can be found in Korea. Jjajjangmyeon is also very easy to find all over the country, it is both cheap and delicious. We could see this food in the 2023 K-Drama "Lies Hidden In My Garden". A funny anecdote about this food, it is considered the food for single people, and Korea created "black day", a day special for single people, during this day, those who are single usually go out and eat jjajjangmyeon as per the tradition.
6. Kimbap
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It is almost impossible that you do not know about Kimbap. It is one of the most popular snacks in Korea. From restaurants to street food booths, it can be found everywhere. If you feel hungry in the middle of the night, just go to a convenience store and grab a kimbap. Kimbap are little rolls made out of rice, seaweed, and vegetables, however, you can customize them to your liking if you make them yourself. It is a great option for vegetarians who wish to enjoy Korean food. Kimbap can include meat or fish, but it doesn't have to it's all up to you. Kimbaps are one of the most affordable food in Korea, it is filling and delicious, a perfect combination. We've recently seen some Kimbaps in the K-Drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo", and seeing the look in Woo YoungWoo's (Park EunBin) eyes, we cannot doubt that it tastes good.
7. Fried Chicken
Netflix / Naver Blog
Last but not least, one of the tastiest foods in Korea, the Korean fried chicken. Simply called Chicken in Korean, fried chicken is a go-to food when meeting with a lot of people as it is easy to share and many tastes are available to fit everyone's liking. Chicken became so popular for large meetings that another combination of food and drink was created, the ChiMaek, Chicken-Maekju, which is chicken and beer. Koreans tend to do ChiMaek at the HanGang River Park, which is a popular spot for hanging out at night, especially during summer when the weather is warm and enjoyable. There are many recipes for fried chicken on the internet, if you're familiar with cooking, it is a very easy dish to make and enjoy in front of K-Drama. This way, the next time you see some characters eating fried chicken on the screen, you won't get jealous or hungry! We've also seen a fried chicken in many K-Dramas, such as "All Of Us Are Dead", where Lee CheonSang's (Yoon ChanYoung) Mom holds a chicken restaurant she named after her son. Even in the drama, we can see it is a plate friends enjoy eating together and sharing, with some soda on the side.
There are of course many more delicious Korean foods for you to discover and enjoy, but we couldn't possibly list all of them. Those 7 dishes were the best to get you started with Korean food culture, but if you like them, make sure to look for more!
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