I've been to South Korea six times and I don't even deny that one of the reasons I visit it regularly is the food. I tried traditional dishes from many regions of the country: giant mandu dumplings from the oldest market in the country – Namdaemun Market in Seoul, spicy dakgalbi chicken from Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, and delicious abalone, also known as abalone, edible sea snails for which Jeju Island is famous.
Fortunately, prices in Korean restaurants are much lower than in Polish ones, and recently the South Korean won to the Polish zloty has reached the lowest results in history. (currently, a thousand won costs approximately PLN 2.57; in spring this year it was approximately PLN 2.7). My wallet likes this – a Pole in Korea can feel a bit like a Swiss on vacation anywhere.
And although I flew to Korea for the first time in 2013, I haven't had the opportunity to try typical North Korean cuisine until now. During my last visit in September, I decided to change that.
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The walls of the restaurant are decorated with numerous photos of the owner and her guests
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
A restaurant full of stars
My choice fell on Neungra Bapsang (Korean: wonderful table), which was founded by a defector from North Korea. The restaurant is theoretically located in the center of Seoul, but usually only those who know the address and who want to visit it come here. Finding this place in the maze of small and steep Seoul streets can be a challenge.
In the restaurant's vestibule, I am greeted by a waitress against the background of the so-called walls of glory – photos of the owner with famous guests, including: former British Prime Minister Theresa May, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. There are also photos with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama.
The place itself is not overwhelming with splendor. These are two large rooms. The interior is modest but cozy – it has the decor of a typical Korean home restaurant.
“School year” to eat
As in many Korean restaurants, you can place an order using a tablet (in the case of a language barrier, which is not difficult in Korea, it is a great convenience for both guests and staff). Although the menu is presented in two versions – Korean and English – there are translation flowers.
As in many Korean restaurants, you can place an order using a tablet
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
“School Year” is actually a dish with pork shank for several people
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
Hakssen dish, that is stewed pork shank (usually from the front legs of pigs), served in North Korea as a snack with alcohol for high-ranking officials, was translated as… “school year”. In turn, traditional Korean Yakgwa cookies, especially popular during the holidays, have been described as “unifying medicine and individual intervention.”
Fortunately, each dish is accompanied by a photo, as is the Korean custom, so ordering is not a major problem. You don't have to worry about eating something you really don't want to eat.
While waiting for my order, I look around the restaurant: there are no crowds. However, we arrived at the time “between” the favorite times for Koreans to eat together: after lunch and before dinner and the so-called hłesik, i.e. a post-work, integration meeting of employees, most often drunk with alcohol.
I didn't expect Polish flavors in North Korean food
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
Like grandma's for dinner
When my friend, with whom I went to dinner, and I receive our order, we are surprised and a little scared: we won't be able to eat it all. Yes, we ordered it ourselves, but we didn't expect such large portions.
Our table includes mung bean pancakes, called “Korean sandwiches” and also a soul food, dumplings made of grated potatoes on a perilla leaf, and soup with mandu dumplings. As the main course, we chose the above-mentioned “school year”, described as the dish most often chosen by restaurant guests. In fact, it is steamed pork shank mentioned above.
It sounds very Polish and it turns out that it tastes (good) too – like a typical, home-made Polish dinner at grandma's. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised since I chose Korean versions of Polish classics: dumplings, broth and pork knuckle, but I expected much spicier, more Asian flavors that South Korea has accustomed me to over the years.
“Korean sandwiches”, i.e. mung bean pancakes
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
Potato dumplings
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
“Dishes on the verge of disappearing”
During lunch, an older Korean woman approaches us. – Do you like it? – he asks. – Yes, delicious, thank you – I reply. It turns out that we are talking to the owner of the restaurant, North Korean defector Lee Ae Ran.
He is a doctor of food sciences. She emphasizes that all dishes in the restaurant are prepared without artificial additives, and the purpose of her dishes is not so much the taste, but their nutritional value.
— Out of 33 thousand people from North Korea who fled to South Korea, 80 percent they are women. It's hard for them to find a job here. I thought that if I taught them how to prepare North Korean food, it would be easier for them to find their way around. Wanting to help runaway women, in 2012 I decided to open a restaurant and employ them. I have employed and still employ many people from North Korea, she tells me.
You can read more about her incredible story and life in the Kim regime in the text: I met one of North Korea's most famous defectors
Meeting Lee Ae Ran, one of the most famous defectors from North Korea
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
Lee Ae Ran founded the restaurant for one more reason – to cultivate the tradition of her native cuisine. “Despite the diversity of food in North Korea, food rationing introduced by Kim Il-sung led to a restricted diet, and much of the culinary culture disappeared after the Hard March (the 1995-1999 North Korean famine that killed up to 2.5 million Koreans),” he says.
“That's why, in addition to selling food, I also research, discover and recreate North Korean dishes that are on the verge of disappearing,” he emphasizes.
How much does dinner cost at a North Korean restaurant?
Everything costs us 107,000. won, or about PLN 280 – not the cheapest by local standards, but considering the multitude and size of the dishes, it is an acceptable price. However, it is worth noting that – as in all Korean restaurants – banchans, i.e. appetizers (usually pickled or pickled vegetables, including the popular kimchi) and water are always free. Every time I'm in Korea, I wonder why it's impossible in Poland and sometimes you have to pay as much for water as for a meal.
The kitchen of Neungra Bapsang restaurant
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Natalia Szewczak / Onet
And finally, an interesting fact: there is no tipping institution in Korea. Regardless of whether in a regular bar or in a luxurious restaurant – they are simply not served. This is due to Korean culture based on the principles of Confucianism, which promotes work ethic, honesty, equality and respect. It therefore assumes that service workers, including waiters, are professionals and a tip may be considered a bribe or an insulting suggestion that their work requires extra incentive.
Author: Natalia Szewczak, journalist and editorial secretary of Business Insider Polska. Contact: [email protected]
