Food destinations within easy reach of Seoul, worth the early start.
Food destinations within easy reach of Seoul. worth the train, the rental car or the early start.
Famous for: Jeonju bibimbap (with soy bean sprouts and raw beef, served in a stone bowl with Jeonju-style gochujang), kongnamul gukbap (soybean sprout rice soup), and the hanok village food alley
Jeonju is the essential Korean culinary day trip from Seoul: bibimbap here uses soy-bean sprouts, raw beef and a distinctive local gochujang in a stone bowl.
Famous for: Suwon galbi (beef short ribs, the local claim is that the largest and most generously cut galbi in Korea comes from Suwon), samgyeopsal, and the Paldalmun Gate food stalls
Suwon is best known as the location of Hwaseong Fortress (UNESCO World Heritage), but the city's food identity is built around galbi (beef short ribs).
Famous for: Jjajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles in the original Korean-Chinese restaurants that invented the dish), fresh seafood at Yeonnan-bu Pier, and squid at the Sorae fishing village
Incheon is the birthplace of Korean jjajangmyeon: the hwagyo community adapted Chinese black bean noodles here in the 1890s. The original restaurants remain.
Famous for: Chuncheon dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken with tteok, cabbage, sweet potato, and scallion in gochujang sauce) and makguksu (buckwheat cold noodles)
Chuncheon, the Gangwon province capital northeast of Seoul, is the home city of dakgalbi -- spicy stir-fried chicken in gochujang sauce, cooked on a flat.
Famous for: Ssalbap (Icheon rice cuisine: multiple rice-based dishes showcasing the prized Icheon short-grain rice), ginseng chicken, and rice desserts
Icheon city in Gyeonggi Province is renowned for producing Icheon ssalbap -- the most prized short-grain rice in Korea, historically offered as royal.