Beyond being responsible for the companies that make our TVs, cars, and fridges, South Korea is gaining global acclaim for its music, art, and — most importantly for this blog — its food. With Korean restaurants and street stalls popping up across the UK, the cuisine was starting to grab my attention, and I was keen to explore more.

Luckily, I had the perfect excuse: with the new group trip “South Korea: Secrets of the Peninsula” and new tailor-made example itinerary “Classic South Korea” proving popular with Wild Frontiers’ travellers, I was asked to head east to meet our local team and guides — and, I deduced, sample as much of the food as I could.  Travelling by KTX high-speed train, I made my way from Seoul to Gyeongju and finally to Busan, sampling the country’s culinary treasures along the way.

Seoul is the perfect place to begin any Korean food journey. Every meal I had in the capital came with a spread of banchan — small side dishes that might include roasted seaweed, savoury pancakes, marinated eggs, acorn jelly, or pickled vegetables. And always, without fail, kimchi.

Kimchi is Korea’s most famous dish — spicy, tangy, fermented cabbage, sometimes cucumber or daikon, always full of life. It’s the heartbeat of the Korean table and the perfect companion to everything from grilled fish at lunch to sizzling pork belly at dinner.

In Insadong, Seoul’s vibrant artistic district, I gave into the lure of KFC, Korean Fried Chicken. But this was no ordinary fried chicken: it was sticky with soy glaze, topped with toasted almonds, and perfectly crisp. The restaurant staff advised that cold draught beer was an appropriate accompaniment, and I took their advice.

Seoul was a feast of flavours, both traditional and modern, and after a few days, I boarded the sleek KTX train southward, bound for Gyeongju — Korea’s ancient capital.

The high-speed train carried me from the neon-lit streets of Seoul into the tranquillity of Gyeongju, often described as “a museum without walls.” Among its temples and tombs, I found dishes with just as much heritage.

It was here that I fell in love with bibimbap. Served sizzling in a hot stone bowl, it came piled high with rice, sautéed vegetables, a fried egg, and a dollop of fiery gochujang. Mixing it all together created a perfect balance of textures and flavours — nourishing, satisfying, and endlessly moreish.  Using the spoon to chisel-off chunks of the crispy charred rice that sticks to the stone requires some skill, but offers some great flavour and texture.

Dinner one evening was at a galbi restaurant, where marinated beef or pork rib is cooked over glowing charcoal in the centre of the table. Once grilled, I wrapped each juicy bite in lettuce or perilla leaves with garlic and chilli, creating little parcels of smoky, savoury perfection.  The staff here too, recommended a pairing of cold draught beer.

On one sweltering 37°C afternoon, I found the perfect antidote: naengmyeon, buckwheat noodles in an icy, spicy broth. The noodles symbolise longevity through their length (literally) and the difficulty it is to shorten them, biting through their al dente-ness —thankfully, scissors were provided and it's fine to cut through them as they’re bridging the gap between the bowl and the mouth.

Refreshed, I boarded the KTX again for my final destination: Busan, Korea’s bustling port city.

Busan is South Korea’s second city, a place where the sea shapes daily life — and its food. At Jagalchi Fish Market, stalls brimmed with the day’s catch: octopus, squid, crab, and every imaginable fish. I followed locals into a small restaurant where freshly grilled mackerel was served simply with rice, kimchi, and banchan — proof that the simplest meals are often the most memorable.

Busan’s food felt bolder and fresher, much like the city itself. I tried more fried chicken here — this time doused in a fiery glaze that had me reaching for a medicinal cold draught beer — and sampled street food while watching the waves roll in at Haeundae Beach.

As I reflected on my journey — from Seoul’s vibrant energy to Gyeongju’s serene temples and Busan’s sea-salt air.  While much of what I ate carried centuries of tradition — kimchi, bibimbap, galbi, and Busan’s seafood — I should also confess to a soft spot for Korea’s more whimsical side. Banana-flavoured wotsits, honey-butter crisps, and even croc-shoe-shaped ice-cream-filled waffles reminded me that, alongside the serious food culture, there’s a playful streak too. Perhaps that balance — the profound and the playful — is exactly what makes eating in Korea such a joy.

Read more about what to do in South Korea here: 5 Reasons to Visit South Korea