Korean Barbeque = the Best Thing I've Eaten So Far

Have you ever heard of a Korean barbeque? No? Well, you’re missing out! It is so good. I visited one with some friends back home before I left and it is just as tastey, if not more so, here in Korea. Basically, what it is, is you sit at a table with a little grill set in the center. You are given dipping sauce (what kind depends on where you go, usually a soy sauce based sauce), various side dishes (kimchee, garlic cloves, onion… stuff, bean sprouts, etc), and MEAT. Raw meat that you then cook on your little grill.

Sooo good.

The first place we went to was cool because the meat was marinated and hey! Already cooked! They just put it onto the grill to heat up. Nice. We went out with two girls from out branch: Lauren and Kelly. They were nice enough to show us this little gem of a restaurant.

We had pork. Pork is the meat of choice here. It was red and spicy and delicious when dipped in the sauce and eaten with the marinated raw onions. Sounds dumb, but it was super delicious. Also, it was only 7,900 won.

Raw onions in sauce were delicious with the food.


These are the kind ladies that took us to dinner. :)


The spicy pork was delicious. None of us ate any of the kimchee soup that came with it though.


That was Thursday. Friday we went to another Korean barbeque, this time with our branch. We went to what is called a Hweshik. It’s basically an employer sponsored employee party. They paid for two different types of meat: pork and beef, which we had to cook on our own at this place. Kind of fun.

Along with the requisite sides, rice, and sauces, they also cooked egg on the grill. “Korean style.” I’m not a big fan of eggs and I liked it.


We were also given “service,” which is a free item given to inspire customers to come again. We were given a kind of spicy miso type soup with tofu, beans, zucchini, and who knows what else. Tastey, but spicy. The restaurant also gave us coke and cider (Sprite) on the house. Chungdahm paid for the beer and soju.

Oh, was there beer and soju.

I’m not at all familiar with alcohol beverages, but I have been told that soju is comparable to the love child of sake, vodka, and gasoline. One guy told me you could get drunk on soju for about $6. Good to know.

At one point they called up all the newbies to do a drinking game from a bowl of mixed beer, soju, and kimchi. Bleck! Kendra and I had to explain to our less than sober superiors that we don’t drink. You say it with a smile at first and then get a little more serious to show, “No, I’m not just being a coy lightweight. I don’t drink. AT ALL.” Luckily, at that point Kelly got up and offered to drink in our place. We ended up leaving about midnight, but I heard some people stayed out past 5am. Wow.