Here's how these treats became holiday staples
Visually reminiscent of sushi, gimbap is a painstakingly-prepared dish involving vegetables, pickled radish, ground beef, and rice, all rolled tight into a seaweed sheet. The end result is sliced into sushi-style pieces.
Involving noodles in a rich black bean sauce, this Korean comfort favorite has its origins in Chinese cuisine. Pork, diced potatoes, and vegetables are among the varied ingredients that make their way into the satisfying dish.
Known also as army stew, the seemingly-random ingredients of this stew (think Spam, cheese, ramen noodles, and vegetables) owes itself to the makeshift meals cooked up from American army stocks in the aftermath of the Korean War. It's still a popular order today.
Variants on the kimchi theme involve chopped radish or radish stalks, but this delicious stew embraces the traditional red cabbage version. Cooked with tofu, glass noodles, pork or tuna, and vegetables, the kimchi really gives it a kick.
This spiced, steamed rice cake dish is incredibly popular on the Korean street food scene. Umami-rich and incredibly appetizing, it's often cooked with fish cakes and scallions.
Once enjoyed mainly by Korean royalty, this dish is now very much a plate of the people. An entire meal in one bowl, it combines rice, mixed vegetables, and beef, topped with an egg and seasoned with sesame oil and chili.
Featuring pork strips cooked on a sizzling grill and served with crisp leaves and fiery garlic kimchi, this is a crowd-pleasing dish that's often accompanied by plenty of soju.
Far from being merely a vegan alternative to meat protein, tofu has long been embraced as a tasty and nutritious element of Korean cuisine. This popular stew uses soft tofu, along with meat or seafood, and often an egg.
Enjoyed in Korea for some 2,000 years, spicy kimchi is a dining table staple. Usually made by salting and fermenting cabbage with garlic, ginger, chili, and scallions, it comes in more than a hundred varieties.
South Koreans are known for their love of socializing over soju shots, so it's no wonder that they've developed dishes to undo the next-day damage. Haejang-guk, or hangover soup, featuring crunchy vegetables, beef broth, and, ominous-sounding congealed ox blood, is said to cure the heaviest head.
A type of sweet pumpkin porridge, this rich dish is made with rice flour alongside the bright orange star ingredient. Often served with rice balls on top, the soothing dish is said to have healing properties.
Popular as a takeaway dish, bossam is another Korean staple with pork at its heart. Here, slices of the steamed meat are served with lettuce or perilla (a green leaf from the mint family), kimchi, and a salty dipping sauce.
A super-spicy octopus dish, this sees tentacles and green peppers cooked with chili paste, chili powder, and chili peppers. Did we mention it's a little fiery? It's also delicious!
Beloved of Koreans on a budget, this is a chicken dish with plenty of heat. Chicken chunks, marinated in chili and spices, are cooked in a vast pan with root vegetables and cabbage.
Tofu, kimchi, and stir-fried pork come together to fine effect in this dish. While vegetarians can ditch the pork, carnivores swear it adds something special to the dish.
Pork crops up once again in this popular stir-fry dish, which also involves glass noodles and a variable host of vegetables that usually includes mushrooms and spinach.
Rice cakes, egg, and dried seaweed are cooked in a meat-based broth to create this substantial soup dish. It's sometimes served with dumplings, to make it even heartier.
A simple soup that's milder than your average Korean dish, kalgaksu is essentially noodles in a chicken broth, with vegetables and chicken or seafood sometimes added to the mix.
A type of crisp, crunchy pancake, this dish adds seafood to the filling mix. It makes an alternative to hearty stews when it comes to comfort food.
A chilled soybean and noodle soup, kongguksu comes into its own in summer. It's vegan, too.
Another dish that's said to soak up the effects of too many soju shots, this late-night dish is delicious in its own right. Pork, potatoes, scallions, and perilla seed are among the booze-busting ingredients.
A dense and very filling noodle dish, this is a staple on Korean home delivery menus. Often featuring seafood and a heck of a lot of chili, it's another favorite with heat freaks.
Ideal for soaking up spicy soup juices, this egg-based side dish has an almost cake-like consistency. Diced vegetables are sometimes thrown into the mix for good measure.
And speaking of summer, when temperatures soar in Korea, there's only one dish to order! Bingsu is shaved ice, typically served with sweetened red beans, condensed milk, and/or fruit and ice cream.
Made with pumpkin or zucchini along with the usual kimchi extras like garlic and chili, this fiery side dish is one of the many delicious alternatives to standard cabbage kimchi.
A meat-lover's dream dish, this sees thick slabs of ribs marinated in soy sauce and garlic, before being cooked over an open fire.
Also known as ox bone soup, this is a delicately-flavored dish that makes the most of its frugal ingredients. Noodles, scallions, and meat add taste and texture to the simple bone broth.
Not to be confused with the ice cream treat, Korean sundae is a type of blood sausage. It's often enjoyed with other animal parts on the side, but some people may find it more palatable when cooked with spices and vegetables to make a rich soup.
Another popular dessert featuring sweet red beans, bukkumi are pan-fried rice cakes filled with the beans and shaped into a half-moon. Made with glutinous rice flour or sorghum, they have a pleasingly chewy texture.
Sources: (Maangchi) (My Korean Kitchen) (CNN)
See also: Delicious sandwiches from around the world you must try
On a hot summer's day, what could be better than an entire chicken cooked inside a thick, hot broth? It might sound odd, but Koreans swear by this stuffed-chicken and ginseng dish on a hot day.
South Korea could hardly be hotter right now: the country's name is on everybody's lips. But what about the cuisine? Korean food is just as well-crafted and addictive as you might imagine. Perfect for those who like their food with a kick, the country has an impressive roster of dishes that will thrill any adventurous palate.
If you're lucky enough to have a Korean eatery nearby, these are some of the most delicious dishes you can order. If not, maybe it's time to hone your Korean cooking skills at home! Hungry yet? Click through this gallery to discover 30 Korean dishes you need in your life right now.
30 Korean dishes to try right now
Delicious dishes from the country that's currently hotter than spicy kimchi!
FOOD International food
South Korea could hardly be hotter right now: the country's name is on everybody's lips. But what about the cuisine? Korean food is just as well-crafted and addictive as you might imagine. Perfect for those who like their food with a kick, the country has an impressive roster of dishes that will thrill any adventurous palate.
If you're lucky enough to have a Korean eatery nearby, these are some of the most delicious dishes you can order. If not, maybe it's time to hone your Korean cooking skills at home! Hungry yet? Click through this gallery to discover 30 Korean dishes you need in your life right now.