Hello, fellow travelers!
I hope you’ve been enjoying our time together. We went to the beach, a raccoon café, hopped on the bus and went to Petite France. Hope you’re hungry because today, I’m taking you to go eat Hanjeongsik (한정식), the Korean traditional meal set. In the past, Hanjeongsik was only eaten by royals and aristocrats, but today, anyone can enjoy this meal that helps represent the history and culture of Korea. Restaurants vary their presentation of this dish, depending on the style and price. Full-course meals are usually more expensive, costing about ₩45,000 to ₩200,000, but there are also lower budget one-course meals costing around ₩8,000 to ₩15,000.
There are several unique things about the Korean meal that I should inform you before we get started. First, we use a pair of metal chopsticks (cheot-garak 첫가락) and a spoon (soot-garak 숟가락) with a long handle to eat. It is said that metal is considered more sanitary than other materials, and in the olden days, it was a way of protecting the King, since the silver would change color when it came into contact with a poisonous chemical. Next, you will notice that besides the main dish, there are several side dishes (banchan 반찬) that accompany your meal. Some places even offer so many kinds of side dishes that the whole table is filled with them.
