A First-Timer Guide to Korean Food, Allergies and Vegetarian Eating
The dishes to try, regional specialties across Seoul, Busan, Gyeongju, Jeonju, Gangneung and Jeju, and honest advice for vegetarians and people with allergies in Korea.
Dishes to try first
Korean food is much more than barbecue. A good first week can cover grilled meat, hot stews, noodles, rice dishes, street snacks and fried chicken with beer. The names below are the ones you will see on menus in romanized form.
For grilled meat, try samgyeopsal (pork belly) or galbi (marinated ribs), which you cook at the table and wrap in lettuce or perilla leaves with garlic and sauce. For stews, look for kimchi-jjigae (kimchi stew), doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) and sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew). Bibimbap is a bowl of rice with vegetables, an egg and chili paste that you mix, and it is a safe first choice for many people. Bulgogi is thin marinated beef, mild and sweet.
For noodles, naengmyeon is cold buckwheat noodles in a chilled broth, popular in summer, and kalguksu is hand-cut noodle soup. Jajangmyeon is noodles in black bean sauce, a Korean-Chinese favorite. For comfort soups, samgyetang is a whole young chicken stuffed with rice and ginseng, and seolleongtang is a milky beef bone broth. Street snacks include tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes in spicy sauce), kimbap (rice rolls), hotteok (sweet filled pancakes) and eomuk (fish cake skewers).
Regional flavors across the six regions
Seoul has everything, from royal-style cooking to street markets. Jeonju is Korea's food capital in the eyes of many Koreans, famous for its bibimbap and its large, generous side dishes, and for makgeolli, a milky rice wine often served with a table of food. Gyeongju is known for ssambap (a spread of leaf wraps with rice and side dishes) and for small sweet pastries filled with red bean paste that are a local souvenir.
Busan, on the coast, is known for fresh raw fish at the harbor markets, dwaejigukbap (pork and rice soup), milmyeon (wheat noodles served cold or in broth), grilled eel and sweet filled pancakes with seeds. Gangneung is known for soft tofu made with local seawater, and for the coffee culture that has grown along its beach. Jeju is known for black pork, abalone dishes, seafood stews and citrus products. Specialties and restaurants change, so use our region pages as a starting point.
If you have limited time in each city, choose one local dish per meal rather than trying to do everything. Eat the regional specialty for lunch, when portions and prices are friendlier, and keep dinner for a grill or a casual noodle shop.
Spice, flavors and what to expect
Many Korean dishes use gochugaru (chili flakes) and gochujang (chili paste). The heat is not always obvious from a photo. If you dislike spicy food, look for dishes that are naturally mild: bulgogi, galbi, japchae (glass noodles), samgyetang, gomtang (clear beef soup), kimbap and grilled fish. You can also ask for less spice, using the phrase in our Korean phrases guide.
Fermented flavors such as kimchi, doenjang and jeotgal (salted seafood) are central, so some tastes will be strong and sour or salty. Rice is served with almost everything, and you should not be shy about ordering an extra bowl to calm the heat. Cold barley tea or water helps as well.
Vegetarian, vegan and halal eating
Being honest: Korea is not an easy country for vegetarians and vegans. Meat is central, and even dishes that look vegetable-only often use beef or anchovy broth, fish sauce, shrimp paste in kimchi, or meat in the seasoning. Bibimbap often comes with minced beef, and noodle soups and stews use animal stock. The word for vegetarian does not always mean the same to a cook as it does to you, and some will remove visible meat but leave the broth.
There are ways to manage. Temple food restaurants cook strictly vegetable-based dishes without meat or the pungent vegetables used in monastic cooking, and you can find them in Seoul and near some temples. Vegan and vegetarian cafes have grown in Seoul and other cities, and a map app search will find them. Elsewhere, ask for dishes without meat and without fish broth, order simple items such as plain rice, steamed vegetables and some pancakes (check for seafood), and use a card or phrase to explain. Our phrases guide has a vegetarian sentence in Korean. Convenience stores sell plain rice balls, eggs and fruit, which are useful as backup.
Halal food is available in some areas of Seoul, and there are certified restaurants, but options outside the capital are very limited. Search in advance and plan meals around those spots. If you follow a strict diet, contact the restaurant before you go, and think about carrying some food.
Allergies and safe ordering
Allergies need more care than preferences. Common ingredients include sesame oil and seeds, soy, wheat, egg, peanuts, shellfish and fish. Shellfish and fish extracts appear in kimchi, broths and sauces without being listed. Menus often do not show allergen information, and kitchens may use shared surfaces and oil.
Write down your allergy in Korean, or save an image of an allergy card on your phone, and show it to the staff before you order. Ask whether the dish contains the ingredient, and watch their reaction. If you have a severe allergy, keep your medication with you, know the emergency number (119), and consider avoiding high-risk dishes entirely. Pharmacies and hospitals exist everywhere, and the 1330 Korea Travel Helpline can offer interpretation help in several languages. See our safety guide for emergency numbers.
Menus and ingredients change by restaurant, so no list can be complete. When in doubt, choose simple grilled or steamed dishes and ask questions.