Food
Korean expressions and words about Food, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Food
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Doenjangjjigae — Another Way of Saying "Now I'm Really Home"
**된장찌개 (doenjangjjigae)** means a jjigae — a stew — made by dissolving doenjang, fermented soybean paste, in water and simmering it with ingredients like scalli
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Gamjatang — A Spicy Pot You Eat Straight Off the Bone
**감자탕 (gamjatang)** means a jjigae — a Korean stew — made by simmering pork spine with potatoes, perilla seeds, and assorted vegetables until it's hot and spicy
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잡채 (japchae) — The Name That Sits in the Middle of the Table on a Celebration Day
**잡채 (japchae)** means a dish made by cutting a variety of vegetables and meat into thin strips, stir-frying them in oil, and mixing them together with glass no
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족발 (jokbal): The Late-Night Spread That Needs No Dishes
**족발 (jokbal)** means a pig's foot — or the dish made by braising that foot for hours in a soy-sauce broth. In Korea, once it's past ten at night and someone sa
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치킨 (chikin) — In Korea, 닭 (dak) and 치킨 (chikin) Are Two Different Foods
치킨 (chikin) means a dish of chopped-up chicken coated in flour or the like and then deep-fried or roasted. It looks like English *chicken* borrowed straight ove
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Today's Korean: 김치 (kimchi) — the Food You Don't Make, You 담그다 (damgeuda)
**김치 (gimchi)** means a food made by salting vegetables such as napa cabbage or radish, tossing them with seasoning, and letting them ferment. It is the first w
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맥주 (maekju) — Foam Brewed from Barley, and What “한잔하자 (hanjanhaja)” Really Means
**맥주 (maekju)** means a foamy alcoholic drink made mainly from fermented barley, with water, bitterness, and carbonation added. In Korea, the place this word po
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만두 (mandu) — From the Seollal Breakfast Table to Winter Market Steamers, Korea's Plate of Dumplings
**만두 (mandu)** means a food made by rolling wheat dough into a thin wrapper and folding it around a filling of minced meat or vegetables. In Korea, the word doe
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마라샹궈 (marasyanggwo) — The Tongue-Numbing Stir-Fry You Pick with Tongs and Pay for by the Scale
마라샹궈 (marasyanggwo) means "a Chinese-style stir-fry made with ingredients you choose yourself, tossed in a numbingly spicy mala seasoning and cooked without any
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느끼하다 (neukkihada) — The Word That Comes Out on Your Fourth Slice of Pizza, and Why It's Risky to Use on a Person
**느끼하다 (neukkihada)** means food has so much oil in it that your stomach starts to turn. After grilling three servings of 삼겹살 (samgyeopsal), at the fourth slice
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오마카세 (omakase) — The Meal Where You Close the Menu and Leave It to the Chef
On a day when you've decided to have a slightly special dinner in Seoul, there's one word that keeps catching your eye the moment you open a reservation app. Th
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삼계탕 (samgyetang) — Why the Hottest Day of the Year Comes With the Hottest Bowl
**삼계탕 (samgyetang)** means a dish made by simmering a young chicken stuffed with ginseng, sweet rice, jujubes and the like until it's meltingly tender. If you'v
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Sikhye — The Korean You Learn Standing in Front of the Jjimjilbang Fridge
**식혜 (sikhye)** means a sweet traditional Korean drink: cooked rice is fermented in barley malt water, sugar is added, the whole thing is boiled down, and then
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순두부찌개 (sundubu-jjigae) — The Stew That Arrives at Your Table Still Bubbling
**순두부찌개 (sundubu-jjigae)** means a jjigae — a Korean stew — made by boiling 순두부 (sundubu), the soft tofu that hasn't yet been pressed and set into a block. Most
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떡국 (tteokguk) — The New Year's Soup That Makes You a Year Older
On the morning of Lunar New Year's Day, Korean kitchens all smell about the same. Broth bubbles away on the stove, and white rice cakes slide softly across the
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약과 (yakgwa) — The Moment a Honey Cookie's Name Turns Into "This Is Nothing"
If you've ever noticed a brown cookie stamped with a honeycomb-like lattice pattern in a Korean café display case, that's **약과 (yakgwa)**. **약과 (yakgwa) means a
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부대찌개 (budaejjigae) — A Pot Born Outside the Army Base: What It Means and How to Really Use It
**부대찌개 (budaejjigae)** means a jjigae — a Korean stew — made by putting ham, sausage, and all sorts of vegetables into a pot and boiling them. One wide, shallow
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Gyeranjjim — The Bowl That Puffs Up Over the Rim of the Pot
**계란찜 (gyeranjjim)** means a dish made by adding green onions, sesame seeds, and the like to beaten eggs and steaming them. The definition wraps up in a single
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호떡 (hotteok) — The Hot Round You Take in Both Hands on the Day of the First Snow
On a winter evening, if a wave of frying-oil smell hits you outside a subway exit and five or six people are standing in line without saying a word, nine times
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짬뽕 (jjamppong) — One Bowl of Red Broth, and a Word That Also Means "All Mixed Up"
The moving truck has pulled away, and the living room is still a maze of unopened boxes. People spread newspaper on the floor, sit down, and the very first thin
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비빔밥 (bibimbap) — Korea's Rice, All Mixed Together in One Bowl
When you sit down at a Korean restaurant, open the menu, and have no idea what to order, there's one choice with the lowest chance of going wrong. It's that dis
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The King of Rice-Thieves: Ganjang-gejang — That Bite of Rice Mixed Right in the Crab Shell
When you order a crab set meal at a Korean restaurant, the server sometimes gives a little smile and adds, "Would you like more rice?" Why? Because hardly anyon
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Why Pajeon on a Rainy Day? — Today's Korean Word: '파전' (Pajeon)
When it starts to rain, there's one food that pops into Korean people's heads almost automatically. When the sound of rain drifts in through the window, someone
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순대 (sundae): The Winter Snack of Steamy Market Alleys
In a winter market alley billowing with steam, there's a dark reddish food bubbling away on top of a big red basin. Today's expression is the star player of Kor
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팥빙수 (Patbingsu) — One Bowl to Get Through Midsummer
Korea's summer is humid and sticky. When the midday temperature in August climbs well past 30°C, air conditioning alone isn't enough, so people go looking for s
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소맥 (somaek): The Moment Soju Meets Beer — The Heart of Korean Company Dinners
Picture a company-dinner scene from a Korean drama. Samgyeopsal sizzling on the grill, a row of green soju bottles and yellow beer glasses lined up on one side
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"아무거나 주세요 (amugeona juseyo)" — The All-Purpose Korean Phrase for When You Can't Decide What to Eat
You're sitting across from a friend at a Korean restaurant. The menu is full of letters you've never seen before, and there are barely any photos. Your friend a
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A Whole Korean Meal in One Word — '반찬 (banchan)'
There's a moment that surprises almost every foreigner visiting a Korean restaurant for the first time. Before the main dish they ordered has even arrived, litt
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곱창 (gopchang): A Chewy Bite of Korea's Group-Dinner Culture
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll often see characters busily grilling something on a hot plate in a smoke-filled restaurant. Clinking soju glasses and shout
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Today's Korean: '김치찌개 (gimchijjigae)' — How to Cook, Eat, and Miss Korea's Ultimate Soul Food
When you watch Korean dramas, there's one scene that comes up over and over: the characters gathered around a single bubbling red pot in the middle of the table
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The Taste That Comes to Mind When Summer Arrives: A Complete Guide to '냉면 (naengmyeon)'
On a sweltering summer day, there's one thing Koreans shout out the moment they step into a restaurant. It's **냉면 (naengmyeon)**. On a day when sweat is pouring
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Korean of the Day: '국밥 (gukbap)' — A Spoonful of Rice in Steaming Soup, Korea's Soul Food
On a cold winter day, walking through the alleys of a traditional market, you'll often see people lined up in front of steaming cauldrons with clouds of vapor r
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막걸리 (makgeolli): Korea's Beloved National Drink, Enjoyed with 파전 (pajeon) on a Rainy Day
On a day when the rain drizzles down, there are two words that automatically pop into Korean people's minds: **파전 (pajeon)** and **막걸리 (makgeolli)**. If you wat
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Learn Korean Through a Single Bowl of Ramyeon — '라면', Korea's Soul Food
Late at night, clutching a growling stomach and setting a pot of water on the stove — every Korean has done it. The moment you drop the squiggly noodles and the
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Gukmul (국물) — Why Koreans Say "Refreshing" While Drinking Something Scalding Hot
If you ever eat a meal with Koreans in winter, there's a phrase you'll almost certainly hear: "국물부터 한 숟갈 떠 봐 (gungmulbuteo han sutgal tteo bwa)" — "Try a spoonf
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The Interjection '아아' (a-a) Fully Explained — Emotion, Surprise, Battle Cries, and How '아아' Became a Coffee
When you watch Korean dramas, you'll come across scenes where a character gazes out at the night view beyond the window and lets out a soft, drawn-out **아아 (a-a
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Today's Korean Expression: '배달 (baedal)' — The Two Magic Syllables That Changed Everyday Life in Korea
Whether you're traveling in Korea or watching Korean dramas, there's one scene you're bound to run into. It's a rainy day, you're sitting on the couch, you tap
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The Star of the Drinking Table, ‘안주’ — One Word That Captures Korean Drinking Culture
You’ve probably seen it plenty of times in Korean dramas: characters sitting at a *pojangmacha* (street food tent) or a bar, tipping back glasses of soju. And o
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The Nation's Favorite Winter Street Snack, '붕어빵 (bungeoppang)' — Even Used to Say Two People Look Alike
When winter arrives, a sweet smell always drifts through the streets of Korea. At subway exits, in the alleys of traditional markets, and at the food stalls in
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소주 (soju): A Glass That Opens Korean Hearts and Tables
If you watch enough Korean dramas, this scene is bound to show up. Two people who've had a rough day sit face to face at a 포장마차 (pojangmacha — a street food ten
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마라탕 (maratang): The Spicy Broth Korea's MZ Generation Loves Most Right Now
If you ask a Korean friend "What should we eat today?", there's a very good chance you'll get one particular answer these days. It's **마라탕 (maratang)**. Especia
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"Please pack it up for me" — In Korean restaurants, one phrase handles both leftovers and take-out from the start
You're traveling in Korea, you walk into a restaurant, and the portions are so big you know you'll never finish. Or maybe you don't even want to sit down — you
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탕후루 (tanghuru): The Snack That Went Viral One Crunchy Bite at a Time
If you watch Korean dramas, variety shows, or vlogs, you'll often come across a scene where teenagers on the street hold up glittering skewers and shout, "Let's
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존맛탱 (JMT): How Koreans Shout 'This Is SO Good!'
Have you ever watched a friend take their first spoonful at a Korean restaurant, eyes going wide, and shout: **"이거 존맛탱이야! (igeo jonmattaeng-iya!)"**? Or a mukba
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The Taste You Sneak at Night — Today's Korean Word: '야식 (yasik)'
It's 11 p.m. You've wrapped up your day and are lying in bed when — from somewhere — the smell of ramyeon comes drifting in. You try to hold back, but your stom
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Poured or Dipped? Korea's Eternal Debate: '부먹찍먹 (bumeokjjikmeok)'
A plate of sweet-and-sour fried pork lands on the table. But before anyone even takes a bite, the mood suddenly gets tense. One person moves to just pour the sa
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단짠 (danjjan): Sweet-and-Salty, the Addictive Flavor Koreans Can't Resist
If you watch Korean variety shows or 먹방 (meokbang, eating broadcasts), you'll often catch a moment where someone dips a potato chip in chocolate, or gulps down
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Iced Americano Even If I Freeze to Death: Mastering '얼죽아 (eoljuka)'
It's the middle of winter. Snow is pouring down outside the window, and it's cold enough to make your fingertips tingle. But when your friend opens the café doo
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겉바속촉 (geotba-sokchok) — The Food Expression Koreans Love Most
While watching a Korean drama or a YouTube mukbang (먹방), you'll see someone take a bite of freshly fried chicken, open their eyes wide, and shout: **겉바속촉 (geotb
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Today's Korean Expression: 김밥 (gimbap) — The Star of the Picnic Lunchbox
For Koreans, the word "picnic" (소풍) instantly brings one food to mind. It's the dish where glossy seaweed wraps around rice, with colorful fillings tucked neatl