Photo Credit: https://y101fm.com/features/lifestyle/food/6217-best-korean-dishes
South Korea is located in the East Asian peninsula. During the Goguryeo era, Gwanggaeto the Great was one of the greatest powers in East Asia and had control of Korea, Manchuria, sections of the Russian Far East, and parts of Mongolia. Due to the different powers that gained control of Korea of the centuries, many different cultures were influenced in South Korea cuisine.
Korea's traditional foods are still popular amongst the South Korean people such as kimchi, bibimbap, bulgogi, and japchae. Kimchi is fermented and made from salted napa cabbage and spices mixed with other vegetables such as radish, onion, and garlic. Bibimbap is a mixed rice dish often made with cucumbers, egg, choice of meat, carrots, green onions, rice, kimchi, and gochujang (chili pepper paste).
Bulgogi is a famous choice of meat at Korean barbecue places, and it is made by marinating beef in barbecue sauce. Due to the surrounding Yellow and East China seas, South Koreans are able to enjoy foods from land and sea. The moisture of the soil allows an abundance of plants and grains to thrive.
The surrounding seas provide fresh seafood as a choice of protein in addition to other types of meat. Something that I have noticed, is that South Koreans like to preserve their foods such as Asian chive kimchi, braised lotus roots, and fermented squid. South Korean dishes do not stray too far away from other Asian cuisines.
Rice and vegetables are a staple in every meal and are prepared either by stir-frying, steaming, baking, or grilling. Compared to other Asian countries, red meat is actually quite expensive in South Korea so red meat is not eaten unless there is a special occasion. However, fish and chicken are quite popular choices of protein in their dishes.
South Koreans can really handle their spiciness level compared to other Asian countries. They are known to prefer spicy foods and are commonly known to use red pepper paste (gochujang), soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, soybean paste, and garlic.
