Best Korean Foods to Try on Your First Trip to Korea

Food is one of the best parts of traveling in Korea, but deciding what to eat on your first trip can feel surprisingly overwhelming. If you’re wondering about the best Korean foods to try, this list is a simple place to start.

You may already know Korean barbecue, kimchi, or Korean fried chicken. But once you arrive, restaurant menus are filled with soups, stews, noodles, rice dishes, grilled meats, and side dishes that may be completely unfamiliar.

The good news is that you do not need to try everything at once.

Start with a few classic dishes that are easy to find and show you different sides of Korean food. Some are mild and comforting, while others are spicy, chewy, or meant to be shared.

Quick Summary

• Start with approachable dishes such as bibimbap, bulgogi, Korean barbecue, and fried chicken.
• Try at least one soup or stew to experience a more everyday side of Korean food.
• Korean food is not always spicy, but spice levels can be difficult to judge from a menu alone.
• Try Shin Ramyun early in your trip. It can become a surprisingly useful reference point for judging how spicy other Korean dishes will be.

1. Bibimbap

If you want one dish that introduces several Korean flavors at once, bibimbap is an easy place to start.

Bibimbap literally means “mixed rice.” A bowl usually includes rice topped with vegetables, meat or egg, and gochujang, a fermented red chili paste. You mix everything together before eating.

One advantage for first-time visitors is that you can usually control how much gochujang you add. If you are unsure about spicy food, start with a little and add more after tasting it.

You may also see dolsot bibimbap, which is served in a hot stone bowl. The bowl keeps the food hot and creates a crispy layer of rice along the bottom.

If you want to learn more about Korean food and dining culture before your trip, Korea’s official tourism website has a helpful introduction.

VISITKOREA: About Korean Food

2. Bulgogi

Bulgogi is another excellent choice for your first Korean meal.

It is usually made with thinly sliced beef marinated in a slightly sweet and savory sauce with ingredients such as soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil.

Unlike many dishes people associate with Korean cuisine, bulgogi is generally not spicy.

That makes it especially approachable if you are traveling with children or someone who prefers milder food.

Depending on the restaurant, bulgogi may be grilled or cooked in a pan with vegetables. It is usually eaten with rice and side dishes.

3. Korean Barbecue

Having Korean barbecue in Korea is as much a social experience as it is a meal.

Restaurants usually bring raw meat to your table, where it is cooked on a grill built into or placed on top of the table. Popular choices include samgyeopsal, or pork belly, as well as different cuts of beef.

Once the meat is cooked, you can eat it by itself or make a ssam.

Start with a lettuce or perilla leaf, add a piece of grilled meat, a little ssamjang, garlic or another topping, wrap it up, and eat it together.

If you have never been to a Korean barbecue restaurant before, you do not need to know every rule. At some restaurants, the staff will help cook the meat. At others, you cook it yourself.

Korean barbecue is usually meant to be shared, which makes it especially fun when you are traveling with family or friends.

4. Korean Fried Chicken

Korean fried chicken may sound familiar, but the experience can be a little different from ordering fried chicken in the United States.

You will find everything from plain crispy chicken to versions coated in sweet, spicy, soy-garlic, or other sauces.

A common choice is banban, which means half-and-half. It lets you order two flavors in one meal, so it is a good option when you want to try more than one style.

American visitors may notice that the chicken itself looks smaller than what they are used to back home.

That is simply because Korean fried chicken is often made with younger or smaller chickens. There is no special meaning behind the size difference—it is just a difference in the type and size of chicken commonly used.

I actually had the opposite surprise when I first ordered a chicken dish in the United States. The chicken looked huge compared with what I had been used to seeing in Korea.

5. Tteokbokki

For a taste of Korean street food, try tteokbokki.

The main ingredient is tteok, or rice cakes, usually cooked in a red sauce made with gochujang. Traditional versions can be quite spicy.

But for some first-time visitors, the biggest surprise is not the spice. It is the texture.

Korean rice cakes are very chewy and springy. Koreans often enjoy that texture, but several of my American friends found the rice cakes almost too chewy when they tried tteokbokki for the first time.

So if your first reaction is, “Why is this so chewy?” nothing has gone wrong. That dense, bouncy texture is exactly what Korean rice cakes are supposed to have.

Tteokbokki is commonly sold at casual snack restaurants, traditional markets, and street-food stalls. It is often eaten with fish cakes and fried snacks.

You do not need to order a large serving on your first try. Sharing one portion is an easy way to find out whether you enjoy both the spice and the texture.

6. Japchae

If you prefer something mild, japchae is one of the easiest Korean dishes to try.

It is made with glass noodles, usually sweet potato noodles, stir-fried with vegetables and often meat.

The flavor is generally savory with a slight sweetness rather than spicy.

The noodles are pleasantly springy, but the texture is much softer than the dense rice cakes used in tteokbokki.

Japchae is also a good dish to share if your group has different spice preferences.

7. Kimchi Jjigae

To experience something closer to an everyday Korean meal, try kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew.

It is a hot stew made with kimchi and commonly includes ingredients such as pork, tofu, or both. It usually arrives bubbling hot with a bowl of rice.

The flavor is stronger than mild dishes such as bulgogi or japchae, and it can be spicy and slightly sour because well-fermented kimchi is often used.

Instead of eating the stew by itself, take a spoonful and alternate it with rice. The rice helps balance the stronger flavor.

Kimchi jjigae is a great dish to try once you feel ready to move beyond the most beginner-friendly Korean foods.

8. Mandu

Mandu are Korean dumplings and an easy choice when you want something simple and familiar.

They can be steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or added to soup.

Fillings vary but commonly include meat, vegetables, tofu, or kimchi. Kimchi mandu can have more heat, while meat and vegetable versions are generally milder.

Mandu works well as a snack or as an extra dish to share with the table.

If you see mandu-guk, that means dumpling soup, which is especially comforting during colder weather.

9. Samgyetang

Samgyetang, or ginseng chicken soup, is very different from the bold and spicy foods many visitors expect from Korean cuisine.

A small whole chicken is cooked in broth and usually stuffed with ingredients such as sticky rice, garlic, jujube, and ginseng.

The broth itself is generally mild.

The chicken may look surprisingly small to American visitors, but that is normal. Samgyetang is traditionally made with a young, small chicken, and the entire bird is usually served to one person.

Interestingly, Koreans traditionally eat samgyetang during some of the hottest days of summer. The idea is to restore energy with a nourishing hot meal.

If you want a break from barbecue, fried food, or spicy dishes, samgyetang gives you a completely different Korean dining experience.

10. Gimbap

Gimbap is one of the most practical foods to know during a trip to Korea.

Rice and fillings such as vegetables, egg, meat, or tuna are rolled in seaweed and sliced into bite-sized pieces.

At first glance, it may remind American travelers of a sushi roll, but the flavor and ingredients are different. Gimbap is generally not centered around raw fish.

It is portable, filling, and easy to find at casual restaurants, markets, train stations, and some convenience stores.

That makes it especially useful on busy sightseeing days when you do not want to spend a long time sitting in a restaurant.

What Are All the Small Side Dishes?

One of the first surprises at a Korean restaurant may arrive before your main dish.

Those small dishes placed around the table are called banchan, or side dishes.

Kimchi is the best-known example, but banchan may also include seasoned vegetables, bean sprouts, pickled radish, potatoes, seaweed, or other small dishes.

You normally do not order each one separately. At many traditional Korean restaurants, they come with the meal and are meant to be shared.

And here is something useful to know: basic banchan can usually be refilled at no extra charge. If you finish something you like, you can ask for more. In many restaurants, there is even a self-service area where you can refill side dishes yourself.

Of course, this applies to the basic complimentary side dishes, not every extra dish or menu item on the table.

This style of eating is one reason a Korean meal can feel quite different from a typical American restaurant meal where everyone orders a separate plate.

Is Korean Food Always Spicy?

No. Korean food is definitely not always spicy.

Bulgogi, japchae, gimbap, samgyetang, many types of mandu, and plenty of barbecue dishes are mild.

At the same time, dishes containing a lot of gochujang or red pepper powder can be much hotter than first-time visitors expect. Tteokbokki and some stews are good examples.

Instead of avoiding Korean food because you are worried about spice, start with milder dishes and gradually find your comfort level.

A Few Things to Know Before Eating in Korea

Korean dining may work a little differently from what you are used to in the United States.

Many meals are designed for sharing, particularly barbecue and larger dishes. Rice and soup may be individual, while meat and side dishes are shared from the center of the table.

You will also commonly use both metal chopsticks and a spoon. The spoon is normally used for rice and soup, while chopsticks are used for side dishes and other foods.

Another thing first-time visitors sometimes wonder about is the water served at restaurants.

The water brought to the table is not simply a glass of tap water. Korean restaurants typically serve filtered water, and some places serve boiled water or mild roasted-barley tea instead.

So if a restaurant brings you a bottle or pitcher of water, you can drink it without worrying that you have been handed untreated tap water.

And if you are nervous about the language barrier, remember that you do not need to understand every Korean word before your trip.

A translation app and a few basic phrases can go a long way.

If this is your first visit, you can also read KoreaAura’s First-Time Korea Travel Guide for Americans: What to Know Before You Go for the other basics that are helpful to understand before arriving.

Which Korean Food Should You Try First?

The best Korean foods to try really depend on your taste, especially how comfortable you are with spicy food and unfamiliar textures.

There is no single dish everyone needs to try first.

If you prefer mild flavors, start with bulgogi, japchae, gimbap, or samgyetang.

If you want a classic Korean dining experience, try Korean barbecue.

For something casual and easy to share, choose Korean fried chicken.

And if you enjoy spicy food and want to experience Korean street-food culture, try tteokbokki.

Rather than treating Korean food like a checklist, try a few different styles during your trip: something grilled, something from a market, a soup or stew, and a simple everyday meal.

You will quickly discover which side of Korean food you enjoy most.

Final Thoughts

Your first trip to Korea is a chance to discover that Korean food is much more diverse than barbecue, kimchi, and spicy dishes.

Bibimbap introduces you to mixed rice and vegetables, barbecue shows you the social side of Korean dining, kimchi jjigae feels closer to an everyday Korean meal, and tteokbokki gives you a taste of Korean street-food culture—including that famously chewy rice-cake texture.

You do not need to try every famous dish.

Start with foods that sound appealing, be open to flavors and textures that may be different from what you eat at home, and gradually learn your own Korean spice level.

Sometimes the meal you did not plan to order ends up becoming one of the foods you remember most from your trip.