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- 2002 FIFA World Cup

Traditional Liguors

The sauces are chili, salt, soybean flour and a wild-garlic source. For the meat, it is ripened for 24 hours in the wine with juice squeezed from some natural ingredients. Slices of pork with fat is barbecued, pre-marinated simple, only with salt, chili sauce (gochujang), salad leaves, and, of course, gimchi (simply strange to Germans at first). Cut yourself, eat slowly, chat, and meet people.

I guess this kind of food and the Deungnamujip restaurant is something that you have to get introduced to through Koreans. While there are plenty of other restaurants which are advertised as favorite places with foreigners, especially businesspeople, this one isn't. That's probably one more reason why I like it so much. The Deungnamujip restaurant is in between Yeoksam and Apgujeong station and also we can find this place near the Sunshine hotel [in an alley behind Hanvit Bank on the opposite side of the road from Anse Hospital].

Spicy Soup with Spam, Ham and Sausages - By Wayne Chumley (President of DaimlerChrysler Korea)

Coming from Texas, I like spicy food. Texas is famous for various foods, especially hot and spicy ones. So when I first came to Korea after working in Japan, I was more than happy to discover the taste of hot, spicy Korean food. The fact that I can eat hot, spicy food anytime I want makes my life in Korea very exciting.

There are many kinds of hot, spicy Korean soup: savory bean-paste soup, hot and sour Gimchi soup, and hot but refreshing seafood soup. They are all wonderful, but I must say my favorite soup is the army soup.

When I first tried Budae Jjigae, I was overwhelmed by its "eolgeun" [spicy yet soothing] taste, which comes from combining Western food--sausage and ham-- with Korean food-- Gimchi.

The spicy taste from red pepper in the Budae Jjigae is different from the tongue stinging spicy taste in Western food. Budae Jjigae taught me the Korean word "eolgeun" for the first time, which of course is difficult to explain in English.

Spicy Marinated Chicken - By Al Rajwani (President of P&G Korea)

My favorite Korean food by far though is Dak Galbi. This was a dish I first saw described on Arirang TV as a special dish of Chungcheong Province. The way the dish was described and the way it looked, i.e. extremely spicy, made my mouth water and I decided right then to visit Chungcheong Province to try this dish.

I have tried Dak Galbi at a few restaurants but my favorite one is called Chuncheon Dakgalbi, located in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul just a couple of blocks from the Lotte Department Store. It's a small family owned restaurant with only a few tables and a few places where one can sit on the floor to enjoy the food. The staff is very friendly and since I am the only foreigner to frequent this place, I usually get extra good service and a free drink to boot. The restaurant fills up very quickly especially at dinner time and you need to get there early to get a place. The Dak Galbi is very inexpensive and the bill for 2 people including Baekseju will be around W20,000 (much cheaper than Tony Romas, Bennigans or TGIF). I have looked for a Dak Galbi place near Hannam-dong where I live but so far I have not found one. Maybe this article will spur an entrepreneur to open one since I will definitely be a regular customer.

After enjoying the Dak Galbi and Soju I highly recommend a trip over to the Inter-Continental Grand Hotel's Hunters Tavern to listen to the wonderful music of the Manila Connection band. I personally like to smoke a nice Cuban cigar and drink some Scotch whisky as I relax and enjoy the melodious music belted out by Janice, Christine, Hans, RJ and the other band members. These types of fun experiences combined with the wonderful people are the main reason I like Korea so much and can proudly say "Uri Nara (our country, Korea)" when talking about this beautiful country.

Well-known examples of cheongju are beopju, sogokju and baekhaju.

A milky liquor with low alcohol content, this traditional commoner's beverage is enjoyed by farmers and laborers, but by business people as well. They are served at drinking houses around universities, at festivals, picnic areas, or anywhere people might enjoy a mild drink with a fermented flavor.

Comparable to vodka but less potent, soju is the most popular traditional Korean liquor among the general public. Soju was originally brewed from grains; today it is mass-produced mainly from sweet potatoes.

This distilled liquor is brewed from wheat, millet and Indian millet. It is given the scent and flavor of the crab apple, which is called munbae. Its brewing skill is designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the Korean government along with that of dugyeonju (azalea wine) from Myeoncheon, Dangjin-gun, Chungcheongnam-do and Gyodong Beopju from Gyeongju.

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