Korean Food and Beverages

Korean Food
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There are many interesting and delicious drinks and dishes in Korea. Some of them include kimchi, bulgogi, Korean pears, soju, gimbap, melon ice cream, chestnuts, flavored soda like apple and melon, Korean melons, and different types of dumplings, seafood, soups, and noodles. Some of these dishes and drinks are listed below.

Kimchi
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Kimchi, also spelled kimchee, kim chee or gimchi, is a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. In traditional preparation Kimchi was often allowed to ferment underground in jars for months at a time. It is Korea's national dish, and there are hundreds of varieties made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, scallion, or cucumber. Kimchi is also a main ingredient for many Korean dishes such as kimchi stew, kimchi pancake, kimchi soup, and kimchi fried rice.

Soju
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Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Jinro and Lotte soju are the first and third top selling alcohol brands in the world. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to sugars added in the manufacturing process. It is usually consumed neat.
Most brands of soju are made in South Korea. Though it is traditionally made from rice, most modern producers of soju use supplements or even replace rice with other starches, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, sweet potatoes, or tapioca. Soju is clear and colorless. Its alcohol content varies from about 16.7%, to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV) for traditional Andong soju, with 20% ABV being most common. It is widely consumed, in part, because of its relatively low price in Korea. A typical 375mL bottle of soju costs the consumer 1,000 to 3,000 South Korean Won in South Korea (roughly $1 to $3 United States Dollars). In the USA, it tends to cost substantially more -- $5 or more.

Korean Pear
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Pyrus pyrifolia is a pear tree species native to Korea, China, and Japan. The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including: Asian pear, Korean pear, Chinese pear, Japanese pear, Taiwan pear, and sand pear. Along with cultivars of P. × bretschneideri and P. ussuriensis, the fruit is also called the nashi pear. Despite being colloquially known as an apple pear due to its appearance and texture, the fruit is not a hybrid of the two. Cultivars derived from Pyrus pyrifolia are grown throughout East Asia, and in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States (e.g., California). Traditionally in East Asia the tree's flowers are a popular symbol of early spring, and it is a common sight in gardens and the countryside. The fruits are generally not baked in pies or made into jams because they have a high water content and a crisp, grainy texture, very different from the buttery European varieties. They are commonly served raw and peeled. The fruit tends to be quite large and fragrant, and when carefully wrapped (it has a tendency to bruise because of its juiciness), it can last for several weeks or more in a cold, dry place.

Bulgogi
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Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of grilled marinated beef. It is listed at number 23 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.

Jeon (Korean Pancake)
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Jeon (also spelled jun or chon), buchimgae, jijimgae, or jijim refer to many pancake-like dishes in Korean cuisine. It has been also called jeonyueo or jeonyuhwa, especially in Korean royal court cuisine. Sometimes, jeonya is used as an abbreviated term for the two. Jeon is made with various ingredients such as sliced meats, poultry, seafood, and vegetables depending on the style and mixed with flour batter or coated with egg batter and then pan-fried with oil. Jeon is commonly eaten as an appetizer, as banchan (small side dishes), or as anju (food to eat while drinking). Jeon is also served as an important food for jesasang (ceremonial table setting for jesa, ancestor worship) and janchi ( feast, or festival). The jeon used for jesa is called gannap or gannam which is made with beef liver, omasum, or fish along with vegetables and green onions on a skewer. Jeon are sometimes eaten as a sweet dessert; one such variety is called hwajeon (literally "flower jeon"). Bindaetteok (mung bean pancake), pajeon (green onion pancake), and kimchijeon are popular jeon in South Korea.