Discovering Korea One Meal at a Time

One of the best ways to explore a culture is to put yourself into the shoes of its people by eating their food. A lot of the time it can be easy to get caught up in the "world-famous" options. In Korea this means sticking to Korean barbeque and not much else. But, in order to get a real feel for the country I've tried to eat more casual foods that don't necessarily get captured by your average food blogger.

Pool halls in Korea are nothing like those you find in the United States. When you walk in you are immediately greeted by the wait staff who offer you a complimentary drink, coke or tea are the go-to drinks for the players. The brightly lit room is filled with dozens of tables where Koreans play their own version of pool that doesn't involved the pockets you might be accustomed to in the States. When players find themselves getting hungry instead of leaving their tables they often choose to take advantage of Seoul's word-class delivery system to order jajangmyeon, black bean noodles thought to have originated from China. These savory noodles hit the perfect spot after an hour or two of pool - filling you up just enough to prepare you for the next round.