Meals
Now for the exciting part – food!
Trying new foods and new ingredients is always scary.
But chickening out because something is different is no way to explore and experience new cultures.
You need to be cautiously adventurous and positively curious.
Think, "People wouldn't eat what disgusts them. If they enjoy it, so can i." Food is one of the most significant portions of any culture.
You can only say you have a comprehensive experience of a foreign culture by eating and drinking what they serve at the table.
That said, food in Korea is a mix of native and western cuisines. You will find that very familiar dishes, fast foods, and snacks are commonplace in Korea.
But be assured of this one thing – native Korean dishes are not something you want to miss or will forget in a hurry after you've experienced them.
You will be left craving more and more. At Herim, you will be served 3 meals with at least one snack guaranteed daily.
You won't have to worry about feeling hungry anytime during the day
because we will keep you healthily stuffed from breakfast to dinner with the best of Korea and the world.
Let's preview a sample of delicacies you'll be enjoying at the Herim summer camp.
Bibimbap
Yes, you may have fumbled the pronunciation on the first try. But don't worry.
Bibimbap is so much easier to eat than to pronounce.
The name "bibimbap" comes from two Korean words, "bibim," which means "mixing,"
and "bap," which means "cooked rice."
The name of this dish sheds light on how it is eaten – by stirring the served ingredients
together thoroughly just before lifting spoonfuls to your mouth.
Bibimbap is a served bowl of "namul" (sauteed and seasoned vegetables) or
kimchi (traditional fermented vegetables) and "gochujang" (chili pepper paste),
soy sauce, or "doenjang" (a fermented soybean paste) all topped over warm white rice.
Common additions include raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef).
You can describe this delicacy as savory and slightly spicy, and just by knowing
its composition you can tell that bibimbap is delicious and enjoyable to eat.
Bibimbap is considered by critics one of the most delicious dishes in the world.
Tteok-bokki and kimbap
Tteokbokki, or simmered rice cake, is a popular Korean dish
made from small-sized "garae-tteok" (long, white, cylinder-shaped rice cakes) called
"tteokmyeon" (rice cake noodles) or "tteokbokki-tteok" (tteobokki rice cakes).
Some common ingredients paired with tteokbokki are "eomuk" (fish cakes), boiled eggs,
and scallions. Natives season it with either spicy "gochujang" (chili paste) or non-spicy
"ganjang" (soy sauce)- based sauce, although the latter seasoning is more common.
There are several variations of tteokbokki: curry-tteokbokki, cream sauce- tteokbokki,
galbi- tteokbokki, seafood- tteokbokki, and much more.
Kimbap, also romanized as gimbap, is a delicacy made from cooked rice, vegetables, fish,
and meats rolled in "kim" (dried sheets of seaweed) and served in bite-sized slices.
Kimbap is usually part of a packed meal, or "dosirak," eaten at picnics or outdoor events.
It may also be served as a light lunch when paired with "danmuji" (yellow pickled radish) and kimchi.
Kimbap is popular as take-out food in Korea and abroad.
It's portable, convenient food that's just fun to eat.
Dak-galbi spicy stir-fried chicken
Dak-galbi, or spicy stir-fried chicken, is a popular Korean delicacy made by stir-frying
marinated diced chicken in a gochujang-based sauce with sweet potatoes, cabbage,
scallions, perilla leaves, tteok (rice cake), and other ingredients.
Although "galbi" means short ribs, dak-galbi is not made with chicken ribs.
The name of this post-Korean War dish is simply a nickname.
However, "dak" means "chicken."
Bulgogi
Bulgogi, literally meaning "fire meat," is a "gui" (Korean-style grilled or roasted dish)
made of thin, marinated slices of meat, usually beef, grilled on a barbecue or
a stove-top griddle. It is often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking.
Bulgogi is often made with sirloin, rib eye, or brisket cuts of beef and is
very popular with Koreans.
Galbi-jjim braised short ribs
Galbi-Jjim, or "braised short ribs," is one of the most popular dishes in Korea and is
often prepared for special occasions. "Galbi" means "short rib," and "jjim" refers to
Korean dishes made by boiling or steaming meat.
Natives typically prepare Galbi-Jjim with beef or pork short ribs mixed with soy sauce,
sesame oil, scallions, minced garlic, pepper, ground sesame seeds with salt, ginger juice,
and sugar simmered in a large pot on a mid-flame to allow for slow cooking. Additional
seasoning and ingredients like jujube, ginkgo nuts, carrots, and pine nuts are added
when the meat is almost cooked.
Galbi-Jjim is usually served in a bowl with rice or potatoes.
It is rich, savory, slightly spicy, and absolutely delicious.
Samgyeop-sal grilled pork belly
Samgyeop-sal, which means "three-layer meat," is simply a grilled pork belly,
a type of "gui" (grilled dish) in Korean cuisine.
It is made from thick, fatty slices of pork belly,
sometimes with the skin left on and sometimes scored diagonally, grilled on a slanted
metal griddle or gridiron at the diner's table.
Usually, diners grill the meat themselves and eat directly off the grill.
Slices of onions, garlic, green chili peppers, mushrooms, and kimchi are often grilled using
fat oozing from the pork belly. Also, the meat is usually not marinated or seasoned,
although marinated versions of samgyeop-sal are available.
Fried chicken
Korean fried chicken, popularly called "chikin" in Korea (to resemble the English word, while the Korean word for chicken is "dak"), refers to an assortment of fried chicken
dishes prepared with a Korean twist. Koreans typically eat fried chicken as a meal,
an appetizer, "anju" (food served and eaten with drinks), or as an after-meal snack.
Korean fried chicken is usually seasoned with spices, sugar, and salt before and after being fried. Small- or medium-sized chickens are the standard choice for preparing this dish.
Street food of Korea (snacks)
Street food is a significant part of popular culture in Korea. Recently,
street food has seen a considerable resurgence in the country.
There are different forms of street food outlets.
Food trucks, the most popular trend today, are spotted in parks and culture-art spaces.
There are also food bikes, with food sold from a bicycle or motorized tricycles.
Another outlet is called "pojangmacha" which is a small tented spot that may be on wheels or a street stall.
These street food vendors usually sell famous delicacies like:
Bungeoppang, a fish-shaped bun filled with sweet red beans, which is a classic street
snack Eomuk, a fish cake made of fish meat and wheat flour topped with
soy sauce-flavored hot sauce
Hotteok, usually eaten in winter and made of dough
filled with cinnamon-flavored raw sugar Hoppang, a steamed bun made from
American flour and red beans with additional ingredients like vegetables, meat,
sweet pumpkin, curry, and pizza Dak-kochi, or Korean chicken skewers with
scallions and other ingredients.
*Allergy
These are sample menus and may be modified at any time by the accommodation partner.
Please communicate any special meal requests at least 2 weeks in advance.
All allergies and food intolerances should be communicated at the time of enrolment.
Please take note that it is impossible to guarantee that any meal will be 100% allergen-free.
*Chopsticks
As with most East-Asian cultures, most meals are consumed using chopsticks.
In some other cases, you may have to use your fingers.
However, if you don't know how to use chopsticks, western table cutleries will be provided for your convenience.
But learning to use chopsticks is relatively easy, so you should try them.