Skip to content
Korea POV
  • Daily Life
  • Culture & Society
  • Food & Drink
  • Parenting in Korea
  • Tech & Work
  • Money & Life
  • About
  • Contact

Food & Drink

What Koreans actually eat — beyond the tourist spots. Real meals, convenience store hacks, and drinking culture.

Buldak Fire Noodles: Internet Dare Abroad, Tuesday Dinner in Korea

July 26, 2026 by S.H. Kim
Plastic bins at a store packed with Samyang Buldak ramen packets, including the Hot Chicken and 3x Spicy varieties, alongside other instant noodle brands

Buldak fire noodles are an internet dare abroad and a Denmark food-safety recall — in Korea, it’s just a cheap weeknight dinner with cheese on top.

Categories Food & Drink Leave a comment

Mul or Bibim? A Korean’s Guide to Naengmyeon (Cold Noodles)

July 23, 2026 by S.H. Kim
Mul naengmyeon: chilled buckwheat noodles in icy broth topped with sesame, egg, and seaweed

Mul or bibim? A Seoul local explains Korea’s two naengmyeon styles, the scissors-and-mustard ritual, and why a bowl now costs 18,000 won.

Categories Food & Drink Tags Korean summer food, naengmyeon Leave a comment

What Is Bingsu? Korea’s Shaved Ice, from ₩10,000 to ₩149,000

July 20, 2026 by S.H. Kim
Title card reading 'One Bowl of Ice, ₩149,000' over a blurred bingsu dessert

Bingsu is Korea’s shaved-ice summer dessert. A franchise bowl costs about ₩10,000; Seoul’s priciest hotel version hits ₩149,000 — and still sells out.

Categories Food & Drink Tags korean food Leave a comment

Boknal 2026: Why Koreans Eat Scalding Chicken Soup on the Hottest Days

July 16, 2026 by S.H. Kim
A Korean soup boiling in a black stone pot on a wooden restaurant table, with kimchi and side dishes

Boknal 2026: Chobok is July 15. Why Koreans eat boiling ginseng chicken soup in a heatwave, what samgyetang costs now, and the dog-meat question, answered.

Categories Food & Drink Tags chobok jungbok malbok, Korean summer food, sambok, samgyetang Leave a comment

Chimaek: What Korean Fried Chicken and Beer Really Means (From a Korean)

July 12, 2026June 14, 2026 by S.H. Kim
chicken bear - chimaek

A few weeks ago, the most powerful man in tech pulled on a pair of clear plastic gloves and tore into a piece of fried chicken in Hongdae. A couple of days later, standing on a baseball field in Seoul before throwing out the first pitch, Jensen Huang — the CEO of Nvidia — told … Read more

Categories Food & Drink Tags korean culture, korean food, Korean Tradition Leave a comment

Korean Soju Culture: How We Really Drink It

June 12, 2026 by S.H. Kim
Beer poured into a glass at a Korean barbecue table as friends laugh around the grill

There’s a green bottle on the table. Someone grabs it by the neck and gives it a quick flick of the wrist — a little spin that supposedly knocks loose the bits from the old cork-stopper days. There are no bits in soju anymore. It’s just a habit now, a small ritual. Then the first … Read more

Categories Food & Drink Tags hoesik, korean drinking culture, korean food Leave a comment

Korean Coffee Culture: Why We Drink Iced Americano Even in Winter

May 30, 2026May 28, 2026 by S.H. Kim
Gloved hand holding a Seoul Coffee iced americano on a snow-covered street

It’s lunchtime on a weekday in Gangnam (강남, Seoul’s main business district), and almost everyone walking back toward the office towers has a coffee in hand — a takeout cup they haven’t finished, headed back to their desk. Some are hot, some are sweet blended drinks, but the one you’ll spot most is the iced … Read more

Categories Food & Drink Tags life in korea Leave a comment

What Koreans Actually Eat Every Day (Not What You Think)

May 20, 2026April 9, 2026 by S.H. Kim
Korean home dinner spread: kimchi stew in a stone pot, grilled fish, rice bowls, and many banchan

A friend from the U.S. once asked me, completely serious: “Do you eat Korean BBQ, like, every day?” I laughed so hard I almost choked on my instant ramen. Look — Korean BBQ is amazing. I love it. But eating it every day would be like an American having Thanksgiving dinner on a Tuesday morning. … Read more

Categories Food & Drink Tags korean convenience store, korean food Leave a comment
Newer posts
← Previous Page1 Page2
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
© 2026 Korea POV • Built with GeneratePress