Things We Have Eaten in Korea

raw squid
dried squid
raw beef
fish brains (maybe??)
river snail soup (maybe?? literally "the animal that lives in the river in a shell [insert gesture that looks like a snail shell])
needlefish (like the cute ones we saw when we went snorkeling in Hawaii this spring)
fresh mandarin oranges
strawberries so fragrant you can smell them from 10 feet away
bbq pork lettuce wraps
sweet potato pizza
fermented cabbage (kimchi)
rice
rice
rice

Actually, for the most part Korean food is really good. Lots of rice and vegetables and soups, most of which are spicy! At any Korean restuarant you always get at least a handful of small side dishes like kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage, kind of like spicy sauerkraut), sauteed spinach, and pickled radishes. There's also a lot of fried chicken, "sushi" made with ham and vegetables, pork cutlets, and American restaurants like McDonalds, Popeye's, TGIFridays, and Bennigans (none of which we've been to yet but I'm sure will be heading to in a few weeks!).

We've been really lucky in the opportunities we've had to eat traditional Korean food. The first day we got to Daejeon we ate the bbq pork (kalbi) lettuce wraps with our bosses, and twice we've eaten with Master Han, his friends, and our bosses. The first time we ate with Master Han we had a couple of dishes featuring a type of fish that Korean is famous for, and the second time we ate about 50 different small traditional side dishes along with Korean miso soup and rice. For the most part it's all been quite tasty. And even the gross things weren't that bad because either (a) I didn't know what I eating at the time or (b) it was smothered in spicy sauce. There's a saying that Japanese food, you eat with your eyes, and Korean food, you eat with your stomach. I'm not sure I'm 100% behind that (I really like Japanese food!), but Korean food is pretty good so far!