What to eat and drink in South Korea: dishes, etiquette and dietary tips

Korean meals are built around rice, soup and banchan, the small side dishes that come free and get refilled. Fermented flavours run through almost everything: kimchi, doenjang soy-bean paste and gochujang chilli paste. Spice levels are higher than most visitors expect, so ask for less if you need it.

The centre of the country, and Seoul in particular, has the widest range: palace-influenced dishes, soups and the biggest choice of everything. The south-west (Jeolla) is the richest cooking, with more banchan and more fermentation. The south-east and Busan are salty and spicy with a lot of seafood. Gangwon and Jeju lean on potato, buckwheat, mountain greens, black pork and seafood.

Bibimbap is rice topped with vegetables, beef, egg and chilli paste, mixed at the table; it is a lunch dish and easy to find anywhere. Samgyeopsal is pork belly grilled at the table and wrapped in lettuce with garlic and ssamjang. Bulgogi is thin sweet-soy marinated beef. Kimchi jjigae is a bubbling kimchi stew with pork and tofu, and sundubu jjigae is a soft tofu stew, spicy, often with seafood and a raw egg cracked in.

For summer, samgyetang is a whole small chicken stuffed with rice and ginseng in broth, eaten on the hottest days, and naengmyeon is cold buckwheat noodles in icy broth or with chilli sauce. Tteokbokki, rice cakes in sweet chilli sauce with fish cake, is the street-stall staple. Kimbap is a seaweed rice roll with egg, pickled radish, vegetables and ham or tuna. Korean fried chicken, plain or sweet-spicy yangnyeom, is eaten with beer (chimaek).

Regional plates worth the trip: dwaeji gukbap, a milky pork-bone soup with rice and sliced pork, in Busan; haemul pajeon, a spring-onion pancake with seafood, with makgeolli on rainy days; japchae, sweet-potato glass noodles with vegetables and beef; and galbi, marinated short ribs grilled at the table. Hotteok, a griddled pancake filled with brown sugar and seeds, is a winter street snack. Temple food, Buddhist cooking without meat, fish, garlic or onion, is served near Jogyesa in Seoul.

Markets and late-night pojangmacha tents are where the cheapest food is. A kimbap shop, noodle place or set-meal restaurant is the reliable everyday option, and convenience-store meals are cheaper still. Barbecue is a shared meal and often has a two-person minimum, which is why solo diners do better elsewhere.

Tipping is not expected in restaurants or cafés. Tap water is safe to drink nationwide, and most places bring it free; in some cafés and bars you help yourself from a water station.

Wait for the eldest to start eating, and do not leave the table before them at a formal meal. Use the spoon for rice and soup and chopsticks for side dishes; do not lift the rice bowl off the table. Banchan are shared, so take from the plate rather than eating straight from it.

Pour drinks for others before yourself, and use both hands when giving or receiving a glass. When someone pours for you, hold the glass with both hands. Turn away slightly when drinking in front of an older person. Tipping is not expected.

Vegetarian eating is possible but needs care. Fish sauce, anchovy stock and meat broth hide in kimchi jjigae, tteokbokki, sundubu jjigae and many banchan, so a dish that looks vegetable-based may not be. Temple-food restaurants are the safest fully vegetarian option, and bibimbap can be ordered without beef and egg. Ask clearly, and expect the answer to vary from kitchen to kitchen.

For allergies, carry a card or phone screen in Korean naming the ingredient and saying it is dangerous, not a preference. Shared woks, grills and oil mean cross-contact is likely even when an ingredient is left out. Peanuts, shellfish and wheat (soy sauce) are the common ones to watch.

For drinks, soju and makgeolli are the everyday alcohols; beer with fried chicken is chimaek. Barley tea and corn tea are the usual free table teas, and cafés are everywhere.

Street food in South Korea is generally safe. Stalls are busy, food is cooked to order and served hot, and tap water is treated nationwide. Markets such as Gwangjang in Seoul and Jagalchi in Busan are the classic places to eat. The main risks are the same as anywhere: food that has sat out, and your own hands if you have not washed them.

If you have a sensitive stomach, start with cooked, hot dishes and go easy on raw seafood and cold dishes in the first days. This is general information, not medical advice; see a doctor if you have blood in your stool, a fever above 38.5 °C, or symptoms lasting more than three days.