It’s officially been one month since I first landed here in South Korea, and what better way to celebrate then by writing a post about one of my favorite things: FOOD. Before traveling overseas, one of my favorite places to go out to eat was a Korean restaurant in Maynard, MA called Little Pusans. It got to the point growing up that the woman who owned the hole in the wall joint knew our order by just the sound of our voice on the phone. I’d always get beef bibimbop and as a family we’d normally order scallion pancakes. My mom would make miso soup and dumplings while we waited for my dad to pick up the takeout. With these two parts combined, we’d have a whole meal, more or less of authentic Korean cuisine. And while that will probably always be the true Korean food of my heart, Korean food more generally the term “ethnic food” will forever hold a bit of a different meaning.

5 Things Korean Food in the States couldn’t have prepared me for:

1. Side Dishes

You will not find a Korean restaurant in Korea that does not serve you side dishes when you sit down at a table. Like how a Mexican restaurant’s quality can be judged by it’s proficiency at producing fabulous chips and salsa, Korean restaurants can be judged by the variety and the quality of the their pre-meal tastes. Almost always there is some kind of radish and kimchi, but it’s always surprising to see what else the restaurant serves.

2. Cooking Your Own Food at a Restaurant

It’s common in restaurants in Korea for there to be a stove top or hot pot on the table that you are dining at and for you to watch over, stir, and help produce your own meal. We had a lot of fun at one restaurant wearing aprons and helping to prepare a chicken stir-fry on a big skillet. At another restaurant I enjoyed stirring noodles and live clams until all were simmered and ready to dip in a tasty sauce.

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3. American/ “International” Food

Non-Korean food is actually amazing here. Anything that is not Korean food is categorized as international food, however I’ve found that restaurants here and even the school cafeteria likes to put it’s own spin on foreign classics. I have not been disappointed by combinations such as pizza topped with steak and salad, noodles mixed with local garnishes and BBQ platters with a variety of sides.

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4. Home Cooking

Since moving to Songdo, I admit that I have not done a lot of home cooking. But the reason for this isn’t just the fact that eating out is delicious, but rather that eating out can actually be just as cheap or cheaper depending on what you plan to make. I spent around $9 US on just sauces yesterday for a pork dish for a potluck, when typically you can eat out and getting decent food for under $8 US. That said, it can be pretty cheap, and delicious to cook with local products in mind. I’ve found that my intake of miso soup, tofu, green onion, and rice has skyrocketed since being in Korea.

5. Weird Foods

Although I know I have more pictures somewhere, I can’t seem to find many right now, but I promise you that I have tried new foods since being in Korea. Probably the most successful of those foods has been octopus (not live though, as that is also a thing here!) and the least successful of those things has been sea squirts. Octopus is often cooked in a spicy sauce and served in rice dishes or on top of noodles. Whereas sea squirts I’m actually not quite sure when or how it is SUPPOSED to be served, all I know is it’s not the best component of a seafood soup especially when you are unaware that you are not supposed to eat the hard shell, just the inside. Other fun foods include Soju (rice liquor) which I’ve found is best enjoyed when mixed with lemonade, or any sort of juice that overrides the flavor, and bingsu which is shaved ice with fun toppings. Traditionally bingsu is made with red beans as the topping (top dish) and is known as patbingsu, however, places serve a variety of flavors like the mango one pictured below.