Foreign tourists grade Korean cuisine a 'C' "just average"

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

Article: Foreigners rate Korean food "just average" satisfaction... 'C' grade

Source: Yonhap News via Naver

810 foreign tourists (350 Chinese, 190 Asians other than Chinese/Japanese, 126 Japanese, 59 North Americans, 43 Europeans, and 41 from other countries) were surveyed on how satisfied they were with Korean food and the majority gave it a 'C' grade.


North Americans were the most satisfied, rating it 82.44%, the Japanese at 78.54%, Europeans at 77.82%, and others at 76.37%.

Dishes that were most eaten/tried:
Bibimbap 72.5%
Bulgogi 60.6%
Samgyupsal 57.2%
Chicken 51.1%
Rice cakes 51%
Kimbap 46.4%

Most delicious:
Bibimbap 34.8%
Bulgogi 33.3%
Samgyupsal 29.9%
Chicken 19%
Galbi 14.9%

Most disliked:
Grilled fish 6.9%
Naengmyun 6.4%
Rice and stew 6.3%
Rice and wraps 5.6%
Bean paste stew 5.1%
Kimchi fried rice 4.9%

-

1. [+951, -121] Considering the price, Korean food tastes just whatever quality wise and a lot of MSG. You can get cheaper food with better taste in Chinese cuisine.

2. [+740, -27] Korean food's too expensive..

3. [+743, -98] I'd give it a D. Such small portions, I'd rather not eat Korean food at all. That's why most of the restaurants you see on the streets are Japanese.

4. [+393, -44] If you go to America, there are so many sushi restaurants easily accessible anywhere... while Korean food, you're limited to a few restaurants in Korea town. Korean food has nothing that stands out. Americans just put up with it if their Korean friends take them to eat at one but they don't really seem interested or like it at all. And the majority of Americans don't even know where Korea is on the map. Korean food Hallyu? That's a joke and a lie made up by media play.

5. [+129, -10] It's so stupid to me how Koreans care so much about the opinions of foreigners

6. [+103, -7] I've lived in America for 10 years and I've never seen my American friends voluntarily go to a Korean restaurant to eat bibimbap. They really like galbi, samgyupsal, and bullgogi but bibimbap is hard for them to relate to because there's nothing like it in their cuisine. I don't get why Koreans push to promote bibimbap all the time. It's hopeless, just give up ㅋㅋ

7. [+81, -3] When I worked at a foreign company, I ate with a lot of white people. Westerners freaked out over naengmyun.. they had trouble understanding the concept of cold soup and the texture of the noodles. They also hated rice cakes. I noticed Korea is also pushing to promote bibimbap but Westerners hate food that's all mixed up like that because it looks gross. And Westerners actually are obsessed with dried seaweed packs. Bulgogi is a hit or miss... Anyway, all I'm trying to say is that Korean food isn't that popular. You go to Japanese stores in Europe and they're usually owned by Koreans.

8. [+84, -23] Of course food like sushi is easier for foreigners to eat than bibimbap ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

9. [+53, -11] It's hard to ask a tourist who hasn't been in the country for long to properly gouge an opinion on our cuisine...

10. [+44, -14] Even Koreans rarely eat bibimbap ㅡㅡ Imagine going on a date and asking your s/o if she wants to eat bibimbap or rice and stew? Surely she'd break up with you

-

Sources: Yonhap News via Naver, Netizenbuzz

What Korean dishes do you like and dislike, Omona-zens?

Comments

[simneesee.livejournal.com]

I love radish kimchi and bulgogi. I don't really like jajangmyeon

[vh4n.livejournal.com]

Yesss radish kimchi!

[leighbee333.livejournal.com]

It seems most foreigners rate the meat dishes highly, whereas my favorite thing about Korean cuisine is all the dishes that don't emphasize meat. But why are some of the comments claiming Westerners wouldn't like bibimbap, when it's clear they do?

And I love naengmyun (as long as it's done well). Also: kimchi jjigae, soondubu jjigae, Korean-prepared mackerel, dolsot bibimbap, haemul pajeon, yookgaejang, japchae, bibim guksoo, the list goes on. Ddeokbokki is good too, but I'm not a huge fan of the fish cakes in there (the rice cakes are delicious, tho).

The only Korean dish I ever tried that I wasn't a huge fan of was soondae. Which was disappointing because I like black and white pudding so it's not like I'm put off by blood sausage.

Dishes/treats I most want to try that I haven't gotten the opportunity to yet: Budae jjigae; jjamppong, jajangmyun, patbingsu, jeonbokjuk, patjuk, hobakjuk, and bungeoppang.

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

The fish cakes are my favorite part of tteokbokki, lol. I like black/white pudding too so I've been wanting to try soondae but I just haven't gotten to it yet.

The patbingsu I've had is really delicious; I like the sweet tteok they put in it the best because they're chewy and kind of like marshmallows as far as texture. Pretty sure the place I usually go to sprinkles crushed up Frosted Flakes on top for some reason, hahaha. I don't really mind though. So far I've only had patbingsu because every time I ask for mango bingsu they don't have it. -_-

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

And Westerners actually are obsessed with dried seaweed packs.

Guilty, haha. Every time I see one of those big 10-packs on sale at the grocery store I grab one.

I haven't been to Korea so I can't compare it to the "real thing," but there's a pretty big Korean population where I live so there are a ton of restaurants/bakeries/grocery stores and all the food I've had is pretty good. We just had a Paris Baguette open up not too long ago and there's a Bon Juk not too far from me that I want to try but they're kind of pricey @_@

[ironicmustache.livejournal.com]

bon juk is really good, but bland, so if it's expensive then don't get it (although the portions are huge). it's like the perfect sick food cause it's really mild. like the basic varieties don't really have any flavor to them at all. i never tried the pumpkin from them, but that might be a good choice because it's both unique and flavorful so you'd be getting your money's worth imo.

[cairistiona.livejournal.com]

i cook korean food at home because there's nowhere to get it here. i've cooked bibimbap, bulgogi, kimchi jjigae, samgyupsal and seafood pajeon. bibimbap was the one i was most nervous about making for other people because it does look kind of gross i guess (especially now i FINALLY have gochujang)??? the person i made it for is very used to eating asian food with chopsticks so getting him to eat the rice with a spoon is always tricky. ;) kimchi jjigae went down the best; it was SO SPICY that my family loved it!
i make bibimbap solely with british veg (not korean veg as you're supposed to); guernsey mushrooms, carrots, spinach (sometimes), and courgettes, along with a load of very thinly sliced bulgogi meat. it's delicious and, imo, tastes better than the bibimbap you get in korean restaurants. though i had the absolute best meal in a korean restaurant in china--sogogi deopbap that was cooked the same way as bibimbap. absolutely beautiful!

i once had the tteokbokki rice cakes without the gochujang in them. that was really good ;) that was before i could eat spicy food. every now and again i get cravings for jjajangmyun and tteokbokki, but i can't get either over here. i don't like black bean beef. i wonder if i could order tteokbokki?

[prlsb4swiine.livejournal.com]

WHAT omg please give me ur kimchi jiggae recipe ;__;

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

I tried bulgogi at an arirang restaurant once and really liked it. The next time I went to one I ordered bibimbap and was surprised at how bland it was. Patbingsu also is not my thing at all.

[cinnabun11.livejournal.com]

after trying patbingsu I didn't get the hype... its almost tasteless to me

[ironicmustache.livejournal.com]

korean food is good (and cheap ... idk what these netizens are talking about), but it uses the same overpowering seasonings in almost every dish so it gets pretty tiring eating it day after day imo.

the thing i can't get behind is eating the same foods for breakfast that are eaten for lunch and dinner. i NEED seperate breakfast foods. when i would travel or stay with people and we'd just have soup, rice and kimchi for breakfast i wanted to dieeeeeeee.

best korean foods: dalkgalbi, fried chicken, samgyeopsal, hotteok, bingsu, naengmyeon ... i would kill for some ddeokbokki right now.

[honeebs.livejournal.com]

I eat bibimbop like a few times a month. We have a Chinese shop that sells BBB and KM on friday's only.
Owner asked me to try other dishes on the regular menu I was like nahhh bruh this is good.
I enjoyed everything really. Kimichi fried rice ..delish. These fools
#4 calm down, you a lie this lady right here is helping Americans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qb2ZxQJwcs

[agentgoodnight.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have any suggestions for korean food that is low(er) in sodium and doesn't require rice? I want to bring a korean dish to a potluck, but several people have dietary restrictions. I thought about making budae-jjigae, but I'm guessing that's high in sodium?

[chunsakuma.livejournal.com]

i helped my mom make gimbap for a potluck at her work and apparently everybody there loved it! lol

it does need rice but it's super-easy to make (especially if you have any experience with making maki sushi), it keeps and travels well, and you can put pretty much anything inside of it

i'd recommend checking out maangchi.com; she has a bunch of great recipes!

[agoongprincess.livejournal.com]

i've never tried anything but my sister really loves Bibimbap which is similar as hell to the way we cook/eat our rice anyways.

[leopolitan.livejournal.com]

i want to try korean food more...theres a place near me but no one ever wants to go with me :( and its like a rly small but popular place so id feel guilty going alone lol

i get the impression that korean cuisine is not very vegan friendly though...the one time i went to a korean place i got some kind of deep fried tofu covered in sauce and it was SO good i almost died

[leighbee333.livejournal.com]

and its like a rly small but popular place so id feel guilty going alone lol

Maybe they do take-out?

And I think there's a good number of stews in Korean cuisine that just utilize vegetables and (non deep-fried) tofu, which would satisfy vegetarians/vegans (although I'm pretty ignorant of vegan diet specifications).

[bluemaid86.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried enough Korean food to have a least favorite but I like ddeukbokki (very yummy & easy to make), Hoddeok though I haven't quite gotten a hang of making it real good yet and kimbap. I also love sweet & spicy Korean fried chicken.

I think the issue with Korean food for foreigners is just a matter of it being very different in taste then what they're use too. Westerners have has more time & chance to get uses to things like Japanese food I think. I know my pallet was a bit confused when I first tried ddeukbokki, I wasn't sure I like it but after eating another rice cake or two I was like how do I get this on the regular!? Lol

[dirrtypony.livejournal.com]

i looooooooove bibimbop. bulgogi is amazing. seafood pancake is the uhmazing. i bought some instant jajangmyeon and oh man its so yummy. still haven't tried it from a restaurant though :( love ddukbokki. i have loved most of the korean food i have tried. it sucks that none of my friends or family really enjoy it so i have to wait for my bday in order to get some.

[leighbee333.livejournal.com]

i bought some instant jajangmyeon

Did you need to go to a Korean grocery to find this?

[wi-arae.livejournal.com]

Kimchijeon is so good and so easy to make I adore it. So crunchy

Also OT, but I just got an email confirming that I'll be moving to Korea in under a year for an exchange semester in Ajou uni in Suwon! Any one familiar with it?

[dorawa.livejournal.com]

no but Suwon is great!

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

Oh also forgot to add that after eating Odongtonmyeon I will never go back to regular ramen/ramyun again. It's got actual flavor that isn't just salt and weak-ass powdered buillon.

[laeryn.livejournal.com]

Kimchi jjigae, japchae, kimchi fried rice, dolsot bibimbap, tteokbokki, bulgogi. Samgyupsal didn't impress me so much mostly because I'm not that keen of that meat. Also there's this one thing with dark/black sauce whose name I don't remember that I didn't like either. And I'm no fan of tofu in general so I avoid the tofu (if it's within a dish, however, sometimes I just avoid it and that's it -- my friends and I always order for everyone to share so).

Idk, I really love Korean food, or what I've tried to so far? IT'S SO GOOD.

Imagine going on a date and asking your s/o if she wants to eat bibimbap or rice and stew? Surely she'd break up with you

I would most certainly NOT break up with you. But you might after seeing me devour it.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

I'm not here for samgypsal either...the black sauce...you mean jjang jjang sauce on jangjameyon and stuff? It does not sit well with my stomach

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

eh enjoying foreign cuisine is always complicated
One has to be willing to try something new and "unusual" (not in a weird way but just "different") and it's not that easy

[premonitioner.livejournal.com]

Korean food outside of Korea is WAY too expensive and doesn't taste anything like the food you get in Korea... I nearly cried into my sundubujjigae when I ordered it at a cafe after I came back from Korea...it was so bad...

[leighbee333.livejournal.com]

Really? I must have a lucky setup then - I'm out in the middle of the U.S. and have three reasonably priced Korean restaurants within 15 minutes, which range from decent to great. It is a little more expensive that, say, Panera/Noodles & Co. or something, but that goes without saying at a sit-down full-service restaurant, especially with the portions you're getting (I usually have enough leftovers for lunch the next day).

[yakuniku-8.livejournal.com]

75% is average ? It's a good mark.

And wow the comments are so negative...

Lately I've read articles about Korean food being the new trend. Well it's not popular but I guess it's fashionable. I honestly think Korean food can appeal foreigners visually. And bibimbap is the prettiest!

[tree-star123.livejournal.com]

I usually go for bbq, stew & rice, kimbap & seafood pancake. Don't really like the stuff that's intensely fermented.

worst experience was eating at this $$ korean restaurant in midtown = $$ stomach ache ugh.

[fancy-sheets.livejournal.com]

순두부 is my true love

[jacky-snoopy.livejournal.com]

I actually really liked bibimbap when I first tried it but it was already very similar to something I used to make myself. Like I always mixed rice and beans together with whatever else I was having so bibimbap wasn't anything that new to me.

I absolutely love sundubu jjigae. So flavorful and just enough spice ugh it's great.
Jjajjangmyun was really good but where I went they gave me a /HUGE/ serving. I only got through like 1/3 of it before I was full lol

One dish that I kind of hoped I liked but didn't was deokbokki(?) It was very bland and was spicy just for the sake of spice. Like the spicy sauce didn't add any actual flavor to the dish. Idk I was pretty disappointed with it. I also didn't like fish cakes, the fishy flavor was really strong and I'm not used to that, so I don't think I would eat it again

Cabbage Kimchi isn't really my thing but I can eat radish Kimchi and cucumber Kimchi forever. So delicious

I could talk about food forever so I'm just gonna stop here lol

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

I like Korean food (though I've only tried in Paris, I still have to go to the country), but I can understand why it doesn't appeal so much else where. Also I could argue with the comments because there are more and more Korean restaurent and this kitchen is "in" in some places!
I like Bibimbap though, that's the dish I usually take. Bulgogi is nice too. I was really conflicted with Kimchi at first but now I love it. I guess you have to get use to it, and also find good places.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

I like a lot of Korean food but in America it is way too expensive. When I took that month vacation to Korea last year and saw how cheap food was there...man

Oh well...I'm moving there this year anyway

[lostnoodle0317.livejournal.com]

what was your fave dish when you were there??? what are you looking forward to eating?? love, a curious seoulite ^o^♡

[chunsakuma.livejournal.com]

i really like korean food and a lot of it feels familiar to me (i'm mixed and half of my family is ethnically a west/central/south asian minority race from iran): the concept of stews with rice is very similar, and dolsot bibimbap is one of my faves because the nurungji/scorched rice that forms at the bottom is almost exactly the same as tahdig, a super popular food that i ate a ton of growing up

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

Maybe because I'm used to eating foreign food (my mom is from a different country), I like the Korean food I've tasted. It's a different taste, but not in a bad way. And I'm quite a picky eater.

The ONLY thing about it, as far as Georgia goes, is the looks my friend (she's half-korean) and I get when we go. I'd drive to go enjoy the food more often, if I could get it without the ugly behavior. That definitely keeps me away, I won't lie.

What I've had is: Bulgogi, Kimbap, Samgyupsal, Tteokbeokki, Bean sprouts (I LOVE THESE...lol), Kalbi, and of course Kimchi. I enjoyed them all.

[tokyocinema.livejournal.com]

I heard samgyeopsal smells like fatback x_____x