With all the talk over the years about the issue of Korean Food Globalization, the new issue seems to be over side dishes or known as banchan. Sides have been drawn and there are those that believe that the side dishes should remain complementary and others that believe they should be charged for - therefore adding value to the meal. Before diving into the issue, I think we should (and I think we always should try to look at it from an outsider's perspective). As a person that works in the food and tourism industry , our company meets hundreds of tourists each month as we introduce them to Korean food. We get many international clients, for example on the last tour we had an American, a German, two New Zealanders, and three Singaporeans. Each of them had different ideas of "service" and "cuisine" but the most interesting perspective was that of "value." Of course, I am not trying to stereotype any of these clients- this is just an observation I h...

Service is a concept that is quite different in Korea from other parts of the world. This has been one of my constant gripes. "Service" in Korea doesn't mean the polite, respectful, courteous, invisible presence that I would expect in a fine dining restaurant in France, America, Japan, or other parts of the world. "Service" in Korea means an extra plate of food, a refill of side dishes, or a discount. Also, the servers often never seem to know about the food they are serving or even their customers. I don't believe this is a language barrier; it's cultural. Don't misunderstand me, the food is good here-sometimes even exceptional; but "service" in Korea is lacking. Well, what should be done? Servers should offer recommendations, they should announce their specials for the day, and they should ask customers what sort of food they prefer. After the customers take their first couple of bites, they should ask them how their meal is. Finally,...