Cultural Guide to Korean Snacks

Korea is definitely known for its cuisine and delicacies such as the noodles, barbeque, soups, and rice dishes. However, a very important aspect to the social life of Korea itself and the Korea Towns or "K-Towns" are the different types of snacks native to the country. These are snacks that can be bought from street carts during the day as there are vendors in place. Think of these snacks as the Korean equivalent of hotdogs, chili dogs, hamburgers, and chicken sandwiches that are sold on the street carts on the side of the street at any major United States city.

When you go to Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Boston, or New York City, you will see vendors left and right selling hotdogs, sandwiches, potato chips, and so forth. We tend to not consider them as meals but as a simple snack on the go. In Korea, it's the same with the Korean peoples. Should you find yourself in a K-Town, chances are you could run into a few street carts that sell Korean style snacks instead of your typical American style burgers and sandwiches. Keep in mind the snacks are completely different from each other. Should you find yourself in South Korea or a K-Town somewhere in North American, you should educate yourself in the different types of popular snacks.

One big difference I have seen is that while hotdogs and hamburgers are sold all year long in the United States, there are Korean style snacks that are served by the season. The snacks are refreshing if the season is hot such as summer. The snacks are warm and hot if the season is fall and winter. A good chance it maybe the other way around in the Southern Hemisphere in continents such as Australia. Remember that the seasons are different by the hemispheres. As it would be winter in the northern hemisphere, it's summer in the southern hemisphere. While it winter up here, it's summer down under. The seasonal snacks served may be different in Australia due to the change of seasons by hemisphere.