Korean Job Discussion Forums

weatherman · Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Location: Korea

For me it is in the side dishes, and the urban ahjuma doesn't cut it with her sisters in the countryside. Out of Seoul, especially in the Cholla region, the side dishes are numerous and fresh. And I am thinking of the simple eateries, like the ones you find out side of a university front or back gate, not an expensive place.

KoreanLifer · Joined: 30 Jan 2003

chollado province has the best food in Kr.in Yeosu, suncheon, or Kwangju u can find the best food in Kr.they have sidedish stuff that u never see anywhere else in Kr.

stay away from all the restaurnat places in Seoul near the seoul station area.i paid 6,000w for bibimbap and i am sure a tongGae wouldnt eat it!

kiwiboy_nz_99 · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Location: ...Enlightenment...

I've lived two other cities and now Seoul, and I don't agree. Seoul's a big place, and I think it's just luck of the draw, but I've found some great spots here.

candu · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

It simply depends where you go. There are fantastic restaurants in Seoul and lousy ones in Jeonju and Busan, and vice versa. Jeonju bibimbap, Chuncheon ttalkalbi, and other regional specialties are often just as good in Seoul as in Jeolla-do, Gangwon-do, etc. (One of the worst dweiji-kalbi meals I ever had was in Gwangju.) There are also a few restaurants in Toronto's Koreatown that are as good as anything you'll find here, plus a lot that are overpriced with a lot of Japanese items on the menu. Your best bet for a great Korean feed - if you're lucky - is a holiday feast with the in-laws!

ersatzprofessor · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 6:56 pm Post subject:

I think Korealifer is right. I guess you get to learn things after awhile here. The best food in Korea is in Chollanamdo, that is if you don't mind it a little saltier and spicier. Seoul food can seem bland and boring in comparison - although since there are people from every region in Seoul- a whole bunch are from Cholla actually - you can pretty much find every variety there.

But there are differences even within the Cholla region. So, for example, Kwangju is famous for the number and variety of side dishes you get, having the best kimchi, and for a whole whack of local specialties - the duck soup there, for example, is awesome. If you go there order the 'bekpan' and you'll be blown away by the variety and quality you get for the price. Tamyang is famous for it's galbi as is Gwangyang ( both justifiably!) and Suncheon seems to be the capital of boshingtang for some reason. Yeosu has wonderful sashimi and the most delicious seafood side dishes, although you get more for a little less in Mokpo- although I haven't eaten in Mokpo for awhile so perhaps things have changed there. Anyway, the idea that regional and even local cooking has died out or shows any signs of doing so is nonsense as far as I can see.

If you stick to "shiktangs" you will indeed get the same monotonous kimchichigae, lammion , etc., no matter where you go. Generally speaking any restaurant where they have chairs will serve crap. These are bolt and dash places, nothing more.

As for Dr. Buck's comments, I wonder if we are living in the same country. I have noticed myself, and this has been confirmed by Korean friends, that there is usually an inverse relationship between how a restaurant looks and the quality of the food served inside. The best restaurants, and this applies to Seoul as well, make their money off how good their food is - appearance is irrelevant and so they don't bother much about it. The nice looking restaurants with the sofas and all that are places to take dates or otherwise impress people - mood is everything and the food is secondary and so usually sucks. And those country ajummas, if you hit the right ones, are superb cooks with generous and deft hands . Just look for the restaurant where the farmers are eating and you can be sure the food will be of the delicious ribsticking kind.

As for lack of variety in Korean cuisine, what total nonsense. Anyone who says that is simply displaying their own ignorance. I've been here over four years now and I am yet discovering new dishes. The restaurant business is incredibly competitive here, and so every cook is always looking for that little edge. So the cuisine is always evolving.

Anyway, all this posting today has made me hungry. What to eat....?

The King of Kwangju · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Location: New York City

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Dan · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Sunny Glendale, CA

Zyzyfer · Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:19 pm Post subject:

Dr. Buck · Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Location: Land of the Morning Clam

Ah, the regional "specialties." Good one. If I got a 10 won coin everytime a Korean told me, "This city is famous this this food," I would be retired and living in Provence.
Professor, as for "displaying their[my] own ignorance," I've been eating Korean food daily for six years. Same shit, different meal.

Shik-dangs out in the country--sure it's touch and go and sometimes you hit a good one. However, I've lived in the Korean countryside for the duration and I must say there are a lot of dumps out there serving substandard food in a grungy setting. Simple as that. As for the Korean farmers, those undereducated never-left-the-farm jacklegs eat whatever swill is put in front of the them, burp, and say, "Mashi-da." They simply have never experienced any other food.

I have much to criticize about Korean food since I eat it everyday at my school's cafeteria, and sometimes at home when my wife takes over the kitchen. There are some fantastic Korean meals out there. My favorites are saeng-sun-way (raw fish), and yook-way (raw beef). Both are worthy of a feast. I bring my own bottle of white or red for those meals with friends.
Ironically, those two favorite dishes are served raw, and not cooked.

The lack of variety is true when held up against other cuisines of the world.
Lack of variety in basic spices and ingredients, staples, cooking techniques, and dishes.
Unoriginality is the hallmark of Korean cooking. It's simpleton cooking. Boiling. Frying. Grilling.
I once told my wife that using an oven and baking is a "higher, more developed form of cooking, and since Koreans don't bake, their cuisine is sort of low-class." And that began one of the best kitchen table fights our marriage has ever endured. Hide the steak knives!
Even the raw fish-sushi is easy stuff. When a Korean friend told me that cutting the live fish for sushi is a "special skill," I told him I learned how to fillet a fish just the same as a 11 year old Boy Scout. Big deal. Don't buy the B.S.
How many Korean desserts can you name. Very few.
Now think of strudels, eclairs, apple pie, cakes, etc.

And also, you cannot count the retard dishes that crawled out from the kitchen, such gems as that one side dish called a "salad":
canned corned, apple chunks, cucumber thrown together with a dollop of factory mayonaise and served as a side dish. Very talented, indeed.

Like I said in the above post, read John Thorne's Simple Cooking. This guy is one of the best food writers operating and he's made me think twice about what gets prepared in my kitchen, and later what goes into my mouth.

Zed · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Shakedown Street

Dr. Buck · Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Location: Land of the Morning Clam

The irony is that it is not cooked. A Korean cook could easily ruin those dishes by:
frying--with that nasty common flour batter
or making some kind of slop-dish with an over use of go-chu-jang. However, grilling the raw beef always equals something palatable, but the marinades for bulgolgi, though delicious, gets old, and hence my claim of lack of variety--especially considering the USA, land of one million BBQ sauces--that's variety.

And if you live in the land of the morning jackhammer, you must be my neighbor.
Just head out at midnight and take care of the problem with with a bottle of corn syrup in the fuel tank. Works everytime.