Korea Living

Sit down at a Korean restaurant for the first time, and something surprising may happen before your main dish even arrives. Small plates begin appearing on the table. Kimchi. Seasoned vegetables. Pickled radish. Fish cake. Bean sprouts. Maybe rolled egg, seaweed, or something you cannot immediately identify. Then comes another surprise: nobody seems to have ordered them. Welcome to the world of banchan (반찬) , one of the most distinctive parts of Korean dining culture. But banchan is more than a collection of free side dishes. It reflects the way a traditional Korean meal is structured—and the idea that many of the foods on the table are meant to be enjoyed together. Traditional Korean meal with rice, soup, kimchi and various banchan side dishes What Does Banchan Mean in Korean Food? The Korean word banchan (반찬) simply refers to the dishes eaten alongside rice. That sounds similar to a “side dish” in English, but the role of banchan in a Korean meal is somewhat differ...

Sit down at a restaurant in Korea and you may notice something unusual before your food even arrives. The chopsticks are metal . Not bamboo. Not wood. And if you're using Korean chopsticks for the first time, you may quickly discover something else. They're surprisingly difficult to use. Try picking up a slippery piece of japchae or a tiny bean with thin stainless steel chopsticks and suddenly eating lunch can feel like a test of hand-eye coordination. So why does Korea use metal chopsticks when wooden or bamboo chopsticks are much more common elsewhere in East Asia? The short answer is that Korea has a long history of using metal eating utensils, while the stainless steel chopsticks seen everywhere today were also shaped by Korea's modern industrialization. And no—the answer isn't simply that Korean kings used silver chopsticks to detect poison. The real story is much more interesting. Korean metal chopsticks and spoon on a traditional Korean rest...

If a Korean friend tells you “Fighting!” before an exam, job interview, or difficult day at work, don't worry. They're not telling you to fight anyone. In Korea, 파이팅 (paiting) —also commonly said and written as 화이팅 (hwaiting) —is an expression of encouragement. Depending on the situation, it can mean: “You can do it!” “Good luck!” “Go for it!” “Hang in there!” “Let's do this!” It's one of those English-looking words that has developed a very Korean meaning. And once you spend some time in Korea, you'll hear it everywhere. Korean actor saying fighting as an expression of encouragement What Does “Fighting” Mean in Korean? The simplest translation is: “You've got this!” Korea.net describes 파이팅 as an expression used to show support or cheer someone on, particularly in situations such as sports, while its meaning can also extend to “good luck.” The important thing is that Korean “fighting” has almost nothing to do with the normal English meaning of...

Imagine waking up on your birthday in Korea. There may be a cake later. There may be candles, presents, dinner with friends, and plenty of birthday messages on your phone. But for many Koreans, there's another food that feels much more personal. A warm bowl of miyeokguk (미역국), Korean seaweed soup. In fact, instead of simply asking, “Did you have a good birthday?” a Korean friend might jokingly ask: “Did you eat miyeokguk?” If you're from a country where birthdays mean cake, this may sound a little strange. Why seaweed soup? Why not noodles, steak, or some elaborate celebration dish? The answer has surprisingly little to do with the person whose birthday it is. It's also about the mother who gave birth to them. Korean birthday table with miyeokguk seaweed soup and a birthday cake What Is Miyeokguk? Miyeokguk (미역국) literally means seaweed soup . Miyeok means the brown seaweed commonly used for the dish, while guk means soup. A common version is ...