Welcome to Korea! I know that many people that are coming for the G20 plan to venture out of their hotels to see the real Korea. I wanted to give you 20 tips so you won't be too shocked about the Korean food culture. Don't worry, it's safe and it's great to learn about the food through the culture. Take a Korean friend (or you can take me). 20. Wear clean socks free of holes at all time, you might end up in a restaurant where you'll have to take off your shoes. 19. You're going to have to use thin metal chopsticks and long stemmed spoons for eating. You might want to take a different set of utensils if these are too difficult. 18. People might greet you by asking if you had eaten rice (bap mok-eossoyo?), it's not because you have rice in your beard or on your clothes. 17. You shouldn't pour your own alcohol. Drinking is a very social event and you don't want to exclude yourself. 16. The little button on the table is to call your waiter- it...

Always an overshare; hopefully never an undershare   I have two mothers; my birth mother resides in America, while my Korean mother sits conveniently beside me at work. Besides helping me with any questions and cultural conundrums I may encounter, she provide much of my dietary sustenance Daily, I am offered and bestowed copious amounts of cookies, candy, fruit ... anything that happens to be in her lunch and also within eyesight of my desk.  There is nothing that won't be offered, regardless of it's ability to be shared.  Oranges halves, cookies, kimbap will be split in efforts to procure suitable offerings for me and  others within close proximity.  Most of our encounters end with my feeling full- first of food- but also of the uncertainty that comes from lack of cultural insight and context. How do I return the shared food favor that is second nature to Koreans? What constitutes as shareable fodder, and who do you share with? ...

On March 20th, O'ngo Food Communications and Seoul Eats will be organizing a Korean Food Taste Tour. Participants on the tour will first enjoy a specially tailored lunch tasting menu consisting of over 20 different dishes and it will be explained by a Korean cuisine expert, Jennifer Flinn, in English. After lunch we will walk over to the historic Bukcheon district to visit 2 museums: A Korean Folk Art Museum (Gahoe Museum) and the Seoul Museum of Chicken Art. At the Folk Museum, we will enjoy Korean Traditional Tea. After the museum tour, we will head over to a kitschy Korean Rice Wine Restaurant (Makgeolli) to have an Korean alcohol tasting. We will sample and learn about 9 different Korean makgeollis, wines, and alcohols. At this restaurant we will enjoy our drinks with Korean Seafood Pancake (Haemul Pajeon) and Red Spicy Chicken (Dak Bokkeum).  The tour is designed to give travelers to Korea an insider's view on the culture and the food. The tour group will mee...

Yesterday was the Full Moon Festival in Korea and it is customary to crack nuts. They can be walnuts, peanuts, chestnuts- any nuts that make that distinct crackling, snap sound. Why do Koreans do this? It is believed that the sound will scare away evil omens and allow the good spirits to entire your house. The family I visited also usually eat Korean Fried Honey Cakes. I seriously need to stay away from these because they are SOOOOO good (and I don't think they are all that healthy.