my urge to ‘get involved in the culture” was satisfied by tasting, than cooking Korean food.  Online cooking classes gave me confidence to expand my repertoire, which started with various attempts at kimchi, the ubiquitous, spicy fermented cabbage. The more tv I watched, curiouser and curiouser I became. I discovered the wonderful Maangchi, a lively, warm Korean living in the US, who has made countless videos on all kinds of Korean cooking, from the most traditional aromatics, to simplified but equally delicious typical dishes. 

It was clear that my trip to Korea was going to be about food. Not painstakingly researched sensations, but the stuff that sustained my people on the screen.

During the trip, I made a daily food story (which I have managed to recover here) But this is a summary of the yummiest, funnest and most memorable. 

My first joyful discovery was the Mongwon Market, in my Mapo neighbourhood.

On the way to my first (of many) search for fruit, I almost fell into it, but I wandered up the entire length of it before coming back and helping myself to this freshly fried selection of goodies. Seafood, vegetables, and dumplings, and my first taste of the ubiquitous, delicious guk, fishcake broth, that one could find almost anywhere – just a kindness in the chilled Korean winter.

The other k-food love discovered that day were the fried donuts. My whole trip became a donut search, after many filling delicious meals, I craved that twisted fried yumness..

 

 My first restaurant meal was memorable, after a wander through the huge flea market – a simple beef soup (as per the explanations on the advertising outside). Didn’t actually look like the picture which makes me wonder if I didn’t actually get the beef foot bath…

 

I stopped overnight in a relatively random town, Gunsan, on my way to Busan. It was charming, and the bus ride allowed me to sample some rest stop food. Again, TV inspired, I knew there were some famous places to eat along the highways, so I was thrilled to get two stops, in the two days of travelling. Besides the fun of figuring out the ordering machines (choose your language and menu), the stuff was delightful, tokk and sausage skewers and squid jerky.

In Gunsan, I had my first fish meal, a delicious fish stew, in a “leave your shoes at the door” restaurant. I also noticed the banchan (side dish)  count; six instead of the 4 I got in Seoul. 

 

Arriving in Busan, my food goal was a fish first, but I fell back on my comfort-chicken instincts after a mini address-finding ordeal. It.was.epic. 

So much for all the “chicken” (which literally means friend chicken) covered in this or that batter, I found traditional Korean fried chicken. Whole, fried once, probably at the beginning of the day, and then refried for the customer, whole.

Served with a pickled radish, some crunchy snack, and they actually GAVE me a glass of beer, because the wimp sister could not drink a whole huge bottle. It changed my relationship to fried chicken forever. I was over the moon, happy to wander back to my apartment, through a closed market, across the bridge with views back to the Jalgachi and other bridge light shows – loving everything.

My fish search started in earnest the next day. A grilled fish restaurant, took me hostage, and got me giggly on Soju – the perfect pairing in my mind, and I continued from there. Again I was spoiled by an array of side dishes that would have been a meal in itself.

 

A seafood Jeon (pancake) the next day at a market I fell into,

and the day after, AT LAST, a raw fish lunch, back at Jalgachi. 

I did find other kinds of food close to my apartment to scratch various itches…a ‘french’ bakery, a sweet, take-off-the-shoes bibimbap place and more DONUTS. But there were more amazing fish-based foods to enjoy.

 

The almost famous Gaemijip with its delicious place nakgopsae (octopus, shrimp etc.) in Seomyeon where I signed up to get my table for one, not a long wait and the reward was out of this world; i may have had a drink….

 

A delightful handmade noodle and seafood soup on Geoje-do, before a ferry ride and hike around another smaller island, and a finalé of seafood soup for one, with a detailed explanation of how to eat it – because, what do I know.

 

I went to Gyeongju, the Shilla capital (57 BCE-935 CE) to see some ancient sights, but had some amazing food in those few days. My first actual refusal in a restaurant led to one of the most sublime meals of my trip – an almost carpaccio, in a beautiful setting which was a balm to my eat-alone-fatigue. What drew me in was this beautiful facade, with the framed prep station . 

I had an excellent lunch with a delightful group of travelling friends, as well as a crab ramen in the crab capital of the east coast, Guryongpo.

On my return to Seoul I hit some staples; pork cutlet, hang-over soup, porridge, and not quite what i was looking for chicken feet. 

The great meal was, again, great because of the company; I invited a travelling couple to join me at the Second pig in Itewon. Eating and drinking and sharing with interesting people improves the whole exponentially.