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Popular Foods We've All Seen In Korean Dramas

Korean drama foods that'll make your stomach rumble after watching these actors eat. The original mukbang!

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Deborah Sung
2 years ago


Korean traditional food with banchan or side dishes like water kimchi cubed radish kimchi korean pancakes korean bean pancakes traditional korean food bibimbap with actors like park seo joon and son yejin eating

We don't know about you, but sometimes we here at Creatrip are afraid to watch Korean dramas! Why? We feel like we are gaining weight just watching these dramas. Could it possible that the concept of "mukbangs" came from K-dramas?  

Every single time the characters in a drama start eating, we immediately start craving the exact thing they are eating. Sometimes, we don't even like the food, but they eat so deliciously that we want to try it as well. Has that even happened to you? 

Here are some mouthwatering foods and meals that have made us immediately run out of the house to buy!


Ramen
라면


korean instant ramen in a gold pot with a cooked egg that is often eaten in korean dramas with wooden chopsticks

After watching any Korean drama, you've become familiar with Korean instant ramen. A notorious brand is Shin Ramen. Shin Ramen is a really popular choice amongst Koreans, however, for those that are not a fan we recommend trying some other instant noodle types such as udon or jjajangmyeon.

K2

Reply 1988

Don't Dare To Dream

Mr. Queen

The Descendants Of The Sun

But oh boy, when Korean drama characters start boiling water in that instantly recognizable gold pot, our stomach begins to rumble.

Have you ever seen a K-drama without a character eating a pack of ramen? Let us know in the comments below!


Korean Fried Chicken
치킨


Korean fried chicken eaten by the main and supporting characters in the korean drama weightlifting fairy kim bok-joo

What is even Korean fried chicken? How is it any different from normal fried chicken? 

Well, let us tell you. Compared to American-style fried chicken, Korean chicken has a very thin-crust made from a thin batter. Not only that, Korean chicken is double-fried. After the initial fry, the chicken rests before being fried a second time. 

The popular flavors for fried chicken are also vastly different from American flavors. A few popular flavors are yangnyeom sauce (sweet and spicy), garlic soy, and green onion chicken.

Anyways, Korean fried chicken has been a staple in MANY dramas like Weightlifting Fairy Bok-Joo, Crash Landing On You, My Love from the Star, and The King: Eternal Monarch

Weightlifting Fairy Bok-Jo screenshot from mbc korean drama with main lead eating korean fried chicken, kim bok-jo played by korean drama kdrama actress lee sung-kyung Weightlifting Fairy Bok-Joo
son yeji and hyun bin in korean drama crash landing on you eating chimek or chicken and beer, korean fried chickenCrash Landing On You
Jun Ji-hyun playing main character in korean drama my love from the star having chimek or korean fried chicken and beer My Love From The Star
In the korean drama or kdrama The King: Eternal Monarch the main leads lee min ho and kim go eun are having a date having chimek or chicken and beer korean fried chicken and beerThe King: Eternal Monarch

Chicken in Korea is often eaten with a pint of beer and pickled radish. As you can see in the pictures above, there is a glass or bottle of beer with platters of fried chicken.


Korean BBQ


Korean BBQ dinner with many side dishes or banchan and alcohol like soju, Korean bbq meat beef eating and cooking with chopsticks and grilling tongs

Korean BBQ is a no-brainer. It is probably one of the most popular foods in Korean cuisine. One of the most common types of BBQ we see in Korean dramas is samgyeopsal (pork belly) and galbi (marinated beef).

Not only do Korean dramas make BBQ look mouth-watering delicious, but they also make it look like an incredibly fun experience. Since you're doing the cooking, there's a lot of group work, and interacting with everybody at the table. 

It makes it the dining experience more of a group or partner experience. We love watching the characters in the drama always get to know each other over delicious cuts of meat and a glass of soju.

We loved watching Park Seo Joon desperately learning to cut and cook pork skin in the Korean drama, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim. 

Park Seo Joon in Korean drama What's wrong with secretary kim barbecuing pork skin or korean bbq for the female lead park min youngWhat's Wrong With Secretary Kim

Another Miss Oh

Be Melodramatic

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo


Tofu Stew
순두부 찌개


Soft Tofu Stew a popular Korean food and often a comfort food or food eaten alongside some drinks at korean bars called pochaPhoto Credit: Mangchi

Koreans LOVE soup or stew. It is a common dish eaten in a Korean household. It is eaten at any time of day. It is commonly eaten for breakfast with a bowl of rice or at night with a side of soju.

Tofu stew is just one of many popular soups that are eaten in Korean dramas. You'll also often see budae jjigae (aka army stew) or Kimchi stew as well in dramas. 

Today, we are mentioning tofu stew because it was often eaten in an incredibly popular Korean drama, Itaewon Class. The main character in the drama, Park Sae Ro Yi (Played by Park Seo-joon) opened a pocha, which is kind of like a pub with food.

In most Korean pubs namely pochas, you must order food with your alcohol. One of Park Sae Ro Yi's recipes was tofu stew, which he often ate with his friends.

Park Sae Ro Yi or Park Seo Joon and Jo Yi Seo or Kim Da-Mi at a bar looking at each other dressed in green coats while eating korean tofu stew with soju and beerItaewon Class

Itaewon Class


Corn Dogs


Instagram @ChungChunRiceDogs

Corn dogs in Korea hit differently. They're a strange combination of sweet and salty. 

Sweet? How do you ask? The corn dogs are coated in sugar and also it is not called corn dogs. In Korea, these are just called hot dogs. 

Some popular types of corn dogs in Korea are plainly sugar-coated with ketchup and honey mustard, meatless mozzarella sugar-coated corn dogs, and potato-crusted corn dogs. 

For those that are not big meat eaters, you can opt for the mozzarella filled corn dog! It is covered with sugar and taste delicious with ketchup and mustard. It may sound weird, but they are delicious. 

Korean drama startup screenshot of Ms. Choi's iconic corn dog that has been there for more than 15 years where Han Ji-Pyeong played by Kim Seon Ho devours and eats his favorite corn dogs or korean hot dogsStart-Up

Hot Stove League

Mystic Pop-up Bar

The Uncanny Counter


Quail Eggs
메추리알


soy braised quail eggs in a white dish, a korean side dish also known as banchan

Quail eggs are a popular side dish or banchan in Korea. Many households eat quail eggs with rice, meat, and other side dishes. In Korean dramas, these are always fought over and often eat at home with family.

Soy sauce braised quail eggs have easily become a staple and one of my favorite side dishes to eat. 

A four screenshot or screencap of korean drama it's okay to not be okay where go moon-young is trying to eat her favorite side dish or ban chan soy braised quail eggs but is having trouble picking up the eggs with her chopsticks

In It's Okay To Not Be Okay, Seo Ye-Ji plays the main lead Go Moon-Young. Go Moon-Young's favorite food or side dish is soy sauce braised quail eggs, which her mother cooked for her at the end of the series.


Subway


Subway restaurant in Korea shot or a screencap from tvN korean drama called goblin where one of the korean drama actors are eating a subway sandwich

We kind of added Subway to the list for the laughs, but not going to lie...we have definitely craved or ordered a subway sandwich after seeing our beautiful Korean dramas actors devour a sandwich. 

Subway has become a product placement powerhouse in Korean dramas and actually has dominated the industry with their restaurant. The funny part is we did not notice how saturated the Subway product placement was until after seeing parodies of it on Tiktok. 

Korean dramas that include Subway: Descendants of the Sun, Goblin, Crash Landing On You, Record of Youth, It's Okay To Not Be Okay, Hotel Del Luna, etc. 

In the korean drama crash landing on you the north korean soldiers come to south korea to bring back hyun bin, the north koreans eat subway sandwiches and sodaDescendants Of The Sun

Descendants Of The Sun

Guardian: The Lonely And Great God

Hotel Del Luna

Something In The Rain

We have ordered Subway three times this month already because of all the product placement. Subway is definitely putting some dough in for product placements in Korean dramas, and it is working!


We honestly can't stop drooling over these foods when we see them come up in K-dramas!

What foods have you seen in Korean dramas that made you want to click the delivery button? If you are craving some after reading this post, you can order delivery with us here at Creatrip! Also make sure to follow our Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook to stay updated on everything related to Korea and email us at help@creatrip.com if you have any other further questions!

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