Eating out in Korea is an adventurous experience. Korean cuisine is rich in nutrition, well balanced and low in calories, so you can eat as much as you like and never gain weight. It is made up of a wide variety of vegetables with seasonings including garlic, red peppers, scallions, soy sauce, fermented bean paste, ginger and sesame oil.

In the country towns visitors can find tiny restaurants where great chunks of beef or pork are displayed ready to be mixed with hot, stew-like soup and noodles. Nearby may be a pot of tender beef mixed with green stringy vegetables.

The most famous dish is Kimch'i, a fermented vegetable dish seasoned with red pepper and garlic and served at nearly all meals. Pulgogi is one of the most popular dishes in Korea and one which Western visitors find most pleasing. It means 'fire beef' or Korean barbeque and consists of thin, tender slices of beef marinated in a sauce made with soy, sesame oil, garlic and other seasonings, then cooked over a hot charcoal grill at your table.

In downtown Seoul there are numerous Western fast food restaurants. The casinos in the capital are open only to foreigners and most tourist hotels have game rooms with slot machines.

Dinner/theatre restaurants are located in some of the top-class hotels. The Korea House on the slopes of Namsan is a large house built in traditional style which offers traditional food along with traditional Korean music and dance performances in its private theatre.

A visit to a kisaeng house is an experience, but visitors are wise to go with Korean friends, otherwise they'll return to their hotels having overspent. The most famous and most expensive is Sam Chung Kak in Seoul. Here you can eat royal food, the recipes of which have been handed down from the palace kitchens.