When visiting a tourist center in Jung Gu, Seoul, one sunny yet cool afternoon, The Jakarta Post employees and other invitees of the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) Jakarta were startled to find that lunch was not ready. 

Instead of being taken to lunch tables, the participants faced rows of kitchen tables full of ingredients, just like in a scene in a cooking competition show. 

Chef Lee Jong-im was ready with her apron and knives.

“We are going to cook haemul pajeon and japchae,” she said in Korean while an interpreter translated her words. 

Looking at the bewildering faces of the guests, she then explained that haemul pajeon was a Korean seafood pancake while japchae was stir-fried noodles with vegetables and beef.

She started chopping vegetables and slicing meat while explaining the steps. It did not take long as after 30 minutes, the two dishes were garnished beautifully with cherry tomatoes and ready to serve.

“Now it’s your turn,” she said, watching the participants, who wore aprons while nervously holding knives.   

It turned out that the dishes were quite simple to make. We only needed to cook the noodles, chop the vegetables, slice the meat and add seasoning.

However, cooking indeed takes practice and despite the simplicity of the dishes, assistance was needed. Fortunately, we were helped by staffers to ensure we could eat decent food.

Korean culture has invaded the globe as a result of the rising popularity of Korean pop music (K-pop) and dramas. In addition to the music and the films, Korean food has also become global favorites.

Ramyeon (instant noodles) and toppoki (rice cake with spicy sauce) are already familiar to the eyes and palates of many people, including Indonesians. 

Situated between China and Japan, South Korea has diverse types of food with rich flavors. Therefore, tourist center K-Style Hub offers cooking classes for tourists who want to experience the process of making Korean dishes.

“Many tourists and residents, especially children, enjoy the classes, as we choose easy dishes to make,” local tour guide O Chong-jeun said while washing the dishes with other participants.

The price of the cooking class ranges from 33,000 won (US$28) to 55,000 won, depending on the dish.

O Chong-jeun, who prefers to be called Jenny, said Korean meals were actually quite complicated because for Koreans, cuisine was part of their culture and way of life. 

“We take our food seriously,” she said.

Her statement was proven when the group was taken to a family restaurant that served spicy grilled pollack fish in Jeonju, which is only a three-hour drive from Seoul.

Although the customers ordered only pollack, the wait staff endlessly jammed the tables with 16 banchan (side dishes) served on small plates until there was no room left for wallets or phones.

Jenny mentioned the names of banchan one by one. They included various kimchi (fermented spicy vegetables), stir-fried bean sprouts, watercress, pancake, eggplant and dried anchovies, green onion salad and potato salad.

“This one is rare, jelly fish salad,” she said while picking up the food with chopsticks.

Although the pollack is a well-known dish, Jenny said that Jeonju’s signature dish was Bibimbap (mixed rice), the food that earned Jeonju the title of Gastronomy City from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm, white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). It is topped with raw yolk and sliced meat. 

The presentation of bibimbap is usually beautiful as it contains many vegetables of various colors. “Each color has its own symbol. All of them are gathered in harmony,” Jenny said when we tasted it the next day. 

She said harmony and balance were important elements in South Korea.

“If you see, our flag has a picture of yin and yang,” she said. 

She said the harmony in food was represented through various colors found in white rice, orange carrots, green spinach and brown mushrooms.

“They represent material elements of wood, fire, Earth, metal and water,” she said. 

Jenny added that bibimbap and other Korean meals also symbolized togetherness.

“If you see, we share our main dish so we can eat together,” she said.

In Korean dining tradition, each person has their own small plate, a bowl of rice, spoon and chopsticks while other items like main dishes and banchan are shared. 

Apart from traditional Korean food, adventurous souls can try the country’s street food.

One of the best places to taste a wide variety of South Korean street food is in Myeongdong, which is also famous as a cosmetic store hub in Seoul.

The place is open after 5 p.m., when street vendors start setting up their carts in the alleys, turning the area into snack haven.

Besides regular street food like toppoki, hottoek (sweet pancake) and odeng (fishcake soup), many rare dishes are also available.

These rare dishes include grilled clams with cheese, fried lobster, fried crab, roasted chestnuts, strawberry mochi (glutinous cake), ice cream in the shape of a rose, deep fried potato rings and sundae (Korean blood sausages).

One of the most popular dishes in South Korea is fried chicken.

“We call it Chime. Chicken and Mekju,” Jenny said, referring chicken and beer. 

Chicken and beer in Korea is popular as a snack after work or at rendezvous with colleagues after office hours or while watching baseball with friends and families.

Unlike Indonesia’s fried chicken, the one in Seoul is less greasy and of course less spicy. However, it is still perfectly seasoned, some with only salt, other using gochujang. 

Although Koreans eat rice like Indonesians, local restaurants selling mekju do not offer rice but French fries as a replacement carbohydrate. Those with big tummies can order a spicy chicken stew complete with rice cake and noodles. 

As Koreans love liquor, they also create many side dishes for drinking rituals. Besides chicken, roast squid is also a perfect dish. 

— photos by JP/Corry Elyda

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