●■●● Gukbap · Gamjatang · Jjigae Dishes A No-Fail Guide to Korean Soups and Stews for Foreigners
▶ Korean food is often best known for a handful of popular dishes like bibimbap, kimchi, bulgogi, fried chicken, tteokbokki, and samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly).
But Korea also has a wide variety of “everyday Korean meals” that are easy to enjoy on a regular basis.
▶ In this post, we organize menu recommendations and dining tips based on what Koreans commonly eat in daily life, with a special focus on soups and jjigae (Korean stews) that are easy for foreigners to choose.
Gamjatang is a traditional Korean pork bone soup known for its rich broth and hearty flavor.
It is commonly enjoyed as a filling meal, especially during breakfast or lunch.
Source: © Korea Tourism Organization Photo Korea – Gamjatang / Lee Beom-su
●●🟧 Soup Dishes That Are Great for Breakfast and Lunch
●🟦✓ Korean Soup Dishes
(Dishes where you mix rice into the soup, similar in concept to a stew)
▶ In Korea, pork is cheaper than beef,
so dishes made with beef tend to cost a bit more.
▶ The most popular menu choices for foreigners are tang (soup dishes).
→ Common examples include seolleongtang, gomtang, galbitang, somori gukbap, and gamjatang.
Most are around ₩8,000 to ₩15,000 per serving,
and a special galbitang can be a bit more expensive because it comes with more meat.
📘 In particular, gamjatang is a pork-based tang, and it is one of the must-try foods in Korea.
Almost all foreign residents like it, and it is often seen as the Korean dish most likely to become well-known worldwide in the future.
→ Gamjatang can be a little surprising or off-putting at first
because the bones are clearly visible.
But once you try it, you quickly get used to its tender, mild flavor.
Most foreigners say, “It tastes way better than it looks.”
📘 When eating soup dishes like tang, ask for an apron
▶ Most Korean soup restaurants provide either a disposable apron
or a clean, well-maintained cloth apron.
→ This helps prevent broth from splashing onto your clothes,
and you can get one anytime if you ask.
▶ Korean tang and soup dishes are served extremely hot, often still bubbling.
→ The bowls are also made of a special metal material commonly used in Korea, so they hold heat for a long time.
→ If it is too hot, ask for a **small plate (side plate)** and move some food onto it;
this makes the meal much easier to eat.
▶ For meat-based tang (galbitang, gamjatang, etc.), the usual order is to eat some of the meat first, then mix rice into the remaining broth.
→ Also, if you are running low on broth, you can ask for more broth.
Many restaurants offer free broth refills.
📘 Dishes like naejangtang, doganitang, chueotang, soondae-guk, seonji-guk, kongnamul-guk, and bukeo-guk use parts or ingredients that are not commonly eaten in many other countries.
→ So for people with a sensitive stomach, or for foreigners who are not yet used to life in Korea,
these can feel like higher-difficulty dishes.
▶ Even foreigners who live in Korea long-term
often try these dishes only after about 6 months or more.
→ If you are a tourist visiting Korea for the first time,
we recommend starting with gamjatang, gomtang, seolleongtang, yukgaejang, and other gukbap dishes.
▶ No matter which area you are in, it is easy to find soup-specialty restaurants.
Restaurants with names that include words like “tang” or “gukbap”
usually specialize in those types of soup dishes.
▶ Soup restaurants usually do not have many side dishes.
Typically, they serve kimchi, kkakdugi, and simple sauces for dipping the meat.
▶ Some restaurants also sell side dishes like mandu or jeon (Korean pancakes).
You can order these and eat them together.
→ For example, if two people are eating,
two bowls of seolleongtang plus one plate of mandu is enough for a full meal.
If you still want a bit more, adding **a bowl of rice (about ₩2,000)** will leave you very full.
Q. When eating soup dishes, when should you mix rice into the soup?
A. Usually, the common order is to eat the meat first, then mix rice into the remaining broth.
It is also fine to mix rice in from the beginning, but the broth can cool down quickly and taste less satisfying.
If you are visiting Korea for the first time, we recommend the order: meat → broth → rice.
▶ The dipping sauce for the meat is provided separately,
and if it is not, you can freely use the sauces set out on the table.
If you want a spicy sauce, you can ask the staff.
▶ When eating soup dishes, it is a good idea to request both an apron and a small plate.
If you ask the staff, they usually provide them kindly.
▶ Soup restaurants usually do not have many side dishes,
and they typically serve some kind of kimchi.
If kimchi is set out on the table,
you can take some kimchi or kkakdugi and cut it with scissors before eating.
→ It is common to hold the scissors in your right hand and the tongs in your left hand.
(If you are left-handed, you can do the opposite.)
💊 Korean soup dishes have only recently started to become known around the world, and they are an emerging, attention-getting style of K-food.
If you try Korean tang dishes for yourself, most people end up very satisfied.
Gomtang is a traditional Korean soup made by slowly simmering beef bones to create a clear, mild broth.
It is commonly enjoyed as a comforting and nourishing meal in everyday Korean cuisine.
Source: © Korea Tourism Organization Photo Korea – Gomtang / Lee Beom-su
●●🟧 Jjigae (Korean Stews) That Are Easy for Foreigners to Eat
●🟦✓ All Kinds of Jjigae
▶ Soup dishes are usually eaten by mixing rice into the soup,
but jjigae is seasoned a bit more strongly than soup, so it is typically eaten like a side dish without mixing in rice.
→ Sundubu-jjigae and kimchi-jjigae are now common in many restaurants in places like the U.S. West Coast and the U.K.,
and they have become wildly popular.
→ Besides these, Korea has many different kinds of jjigae and soup dishes with different ingredients and cooking methods.
📘 Jjigae that first-time visitors can enjoy
▶ Sundubu-jjigae, kimchi-jjigae, doenjang-jjigae, budae-jjigae, and miyeok-guk are some common options.
→ Doenjang-jjigae is made with fermented soybeans, and it is considered a healthy dish that warms your body.
Most foreigners living in Korea like it,
but some people feel put off at first because of its distinctive fermented smell.
If you are sensitive to smells, it is recommended to avoid it.
▶ Budae-jjigae was created right after the Korean War in the 1950s,
during a time when food was scarce, by mixing Spam and sausages from U.S. military bases
with Korean ingredients (kimchi, gochujang, etc.).
It is a representative dish that symbolizes Korea’s difficult times,
and today it is also very popular among foreigners.
→ At first, many foreigners wonder, “Why would anyone eat this?” because of the Spam,
but after trying it, most people end up loving it and say, “I can’t believe this kind of food exists—it’s amazing.”
There is even a joke that “Budae-jjigae kept the American Spam company from going out of business,”
and in Korea, budae-jjigae is a beloved dish.
→ When eating budae-jjigae, we recommend adding ramyeon noodles.
This dish is usually cooked at the table by the customers,
so if you ask the staff, “When should we start eating?”
they will kindly guide you on the timing.
●🟦✓ Miyeok-guk (a unique dish eaten only in Korea)
→ Miyeok is an edible seaweed that grows in the ocean,
and it looks similar to gim (seaweed), but it is much thicker and softer.
In Korea, miyeok is eaten in many ways, such as soup dishes, seasoned side dishes, cold dishes, and salads.
→ About 1,500 years ago, there were many whales in Korea’s seas,
and people saw that whales who had just given birth ate a huge amount of miyeok, and came to believe it helps with postpartum recovery.
Since then, miyeok-guk became established in Korea as a postpartum recovery food, and it is also known scientifically to help with recovering strength.
→ Even today in Korea, if someone asks for miyeok-guk,
there is a joke like, “Hey, did you have a baby?”
because it is recognized as a food associated with childbirth.
→ There is also a tradition of eating miyeok-guk on your birthday.
It is eaten on your birthday as a way to remember a mother’s hard work in giving birth and to express gratitude for that kindness.
In the end, thanks to whales, miyeok-guk became a food that carries Korean tradition and sentiment, and foreigners living in Korea also really like this dish.
💊 There are not many restaurants that specialize in miyeok-guk.
▶ However, at barbecue restaurants or places that sell spicy foods,
it is often served like a basic side soup, and it is also sold frequently at jjimjilbangs.
▶ Korea is also the country that eats the most diverse vegetables in the world, and the country that eats the most seaweed.
●🟦✓ Jjigae dishes that tourists should be cautious about
▶ Cheonggukjang-jjigae, gopchang-jjigae, dongtae-jjigae, and altang
can feel off-putting to foreigners who try them for the first time because they have strong visuals and smells.
→ The smell is a natural aroma from fermented beans or fish,
but for foreigners, it can **“sometimes smell like something spoiled.”**
→ These dishes can be polarizing even among Koreans,
so first-time tourists are advised to avoid them.
Doenjang jjigae is a traditional Korean stew made with fermented soybean paste, vegetables, and tofu.
It is widely enjoyed as a comforting everyday dish in Korean home-style meals.
Source: © Korea Tourism Organization Photo Korea – Doenjang Jjigae / Lee Beom-su
Q. Is it okay to mix jjigae into rice?
A. Because jjigae is more strongly seasoned than soup dishes, it is usually eaten as a side dish without mixing it into rice.
A common way is to put small amounts on top of your rice, and it is also fine to mix it in depending on your preference.
However, most Koreans do not mix jjigae into rice,
and the foods that are good for mixing with rice are **soups (tang dishes)**.
●🟦 This post is Part 4-2 of a six-part preparation guide for foreigners coming to Korea for the first time.
Part 4 focuses on everyday foods and dining culture that you’re most likely to encounter while living in Korea.
In addition to this series, this blog has a variety of helpful informational posts about life in Korea,
including transportation, health information, seasonal living tips, and ways to enjoy your leisure time,
so feel free to use them as references as well.
▶ If you have not finished preparing for entry to Korea yet
→ What You Must Know Before Coming to Korea (Part 1): Pre-entry Preparation
▶ If you are curious about the process from arriving in Korea to finding housing
→ What You Must Know Before Coming to Korea (Part 2): From Arrival to Housing
▶ If you are curious about simple foods you will often eat while living in Korea
→ What You Must Know Before Coming to Korea (Part 4-3): Everyday Foods That Are Easy for Foreigners to Eat
(In preparation)
→ Korea Life & Settlement Guide