Learn South Korea before you go

10 phrases to learn

In Korean. Capital letters show the stressed part. Tap the heart to practise a phrase later.

At the table

• Wait for the oldest person at the table to start eating before you begin.
• Rice and soup are eaten with a spoon, and side dishes with chopsticks. Chopsticks and spoons are usually made of metal.
• Leave your rice bowl on the table instead of lifting it to your mouth.
• Never stand your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice: it looks like a ritual for the dead.
• When someone older pours you a drink, hold your glass with both hands, and when you pour for them, use both hands too.
• Side dishes are shared and usually refilled for free, so it is fine to ask for more.

Local tips

Dishes to try

• Kimchi (김치): Vegetables, most often napa cabbage or radish, salted and fermented with chilli, garlic, ginger and spring onion. It is served with almost every meal, and older, sourer kimchi is used for cooking stews and pancakes.
• Bibimbap (비빔밥): A bowl of warm rice topped with seasoned vegetables, meat, an egg and a spoonful of gochujang, all mixed together just before eating. The name means 'mixed rice'.
• Bulgogi (불고기): Thin slices of beef marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and grated pear, then grilled or pan-fried. The name means 'fire meat'.
• Samgyeopsal (삼겹살): Thick slices of pork belly that diners grill themselves on a hot plate in the middle of the table, then wrap in lettuce leaves with garlic and a dab of ssamjang, a spicy bean paste.
• Kimchi stew (김치찌개): A bubbling, spicy stew of well-fermented kimchi, pork and tofu, one of the most common home dishes in Korea. It is served boiling hot in the middle of the table with rice.
• Japchae (잡채): Glass noodles made from sweet potato starch, stir-fried with vegetables, mushrooms and beef and seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. It is a favourite dish for birthdays, weddings and holidays.
• Seafood and spring onion pancake (해물파전): A large, crisp pancake of batter packed with whole spring onions and seafood such as squid, prawns and clams, cut into pieces and dipped in soy sauce with vinegar.
• Tteokbokki (떡볶이): Chewy rice cakes shaped like thick fingers, simmered in a sweet and fiery gochujang sauce with fish cakes and spring onions. It is the classic street food of Korea.

Cities to see

• Seoul (capital): Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces, The Han River parks, Markets such as Gwangjang and Namdaemun.
• Busan: Haeundae Beach, Jagalchi fish market, Gamcheon Culture Village.
• Incheon: Incheon International Airport, Korea's only official Chinatown, The Incheon landing of 1950.
• Daegu: Apples, Seomun Market, Yangnyeongsi herbal medicine market.
• Daejeon: Daedeok Innopolis research town, KAIST university, Expo '93.
• Suwon: Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon galbi (beef ribs), Samsung Electronics.

Landmarks and the city map are on the South Korea trip