What to eat in South Korea

Thick pork belly grilled at your table, wrapped in lettuce with garlic, ssamjang and kimchi. Most places need at least two servings per table.

Try: Hongdae, Mapo, Jamsil; Seomyeon in Busan

Chewy rice cakes in sweet-spicy gochujang sauce. Add fish cake, boiled egg or cheese.

Try: Myeongdong stalls, Gwangjang Market, Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town

Extra-crispy fried chicken, plain or glazed in sweet-spicy yangnyeom sauce, with a cold beer. Have it delivered to Hangang Park like the locals.

Try: Hangang parks, Suwon Chicken Street, Kyochon, BBQ, bhc

Crispy mung bean pancake fried in a pool of oil. Best with makgeolli (rice wine).

Try: Gwangjang Market

Hand-cut noodles in chicken or anchovy broth, with plump dumplings on the side.

Try: Myeongdong Kyoja, Gwangjang Market

A whole young chicken stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng and jujube in milky broth. Think tinola's fancy Korean cousin.

Try: Tosokchon near Gyeongbokgung, most Korean restaurants

Rice topped with seasoned vegetables, beef and a fried egg; mix it all with gochujang. Hot stone bowl (dolsot) versions get a crispy crust.

Try: Insadong, Jongno, mall food courts

Busan's pork-bone soup with rice. Season it with salted shrimp, chives and chili paste.

Try: Seomyeon gukbap alley, Ssangdungi (Daeyeon)

Busan's chilled wheat noodles in icy broth or spicy sauce, born from wartime refugees' version of naengmyeon.

Try: Nampo-dong, Gaya Milmyeon

Fried pancake stuffed with brown sugar syrup and a handful of sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Careful, the syrup is hot.

Try: BIFF Square, Busan

Busan is Korea's fish cake capital. Skewers simmer in broth at every stall, and the broth is free to sip on cold days.

Try: Haeundae Market, Busan Station, Samjin Eomuk

Instant noodles cooked in a convenience-store ramyeon machine by the river. Cheap, fun and very K-drama.

Try: CU and GS25 in the Hangang parks

Fish-shaped waffle filled with red bean or custard, sold from street carts in the cold months.

Try: Street carts, roughly November to February