What's She Up to Now? Jody's Life Blog

Foods and Drinks I've Tried in Korea

This is being written for the very first round of "Personal Essay Contest"  (Personal Essay Contest) for June 2023. There is no prompt and the word count must be 500-750 words.


I came to Korea in May 2023 for a 2-week study abroad (plus a week in Los Angeles for classwork) to study the rapidly aging population due to the low birth rate—the lowest in the world, about .78 for every 2 people. If things don’t change, by 2067, Korea will have 48.5% of their population aged 65+.

Anyway, never one to let a travel opportunity pass me by, I’ve decided to stay here an extra 2 weeks. Why waste the ticket? This entry will discuss some of the foods and drinks I’ve had since I arrived and some of the differences in what I saw when I lived here in 1996 vs. now.

First, there’s a distinct lack of street vendors compared to when I was here in the ‘90’s. Yes, you can find them, but mostly near the markets whereas before, they seemed to be practically everywhere. There were also certain street foods that were common then that are harder to find now. First, the little tiny snails they served in a little paper cup or paper cone, snails so small you pick them up with your 2 fingers and try to suck them out of their often less than fingernail-sized shell—I’ve not seen them at all.

Silk worm pupa were another thing you saw all over. They taste a bit like cardboard, in my opinion—not inedible, but not particularly delicious. I mostly ate one here and there to amuse others. I’ve only seen them for sale once in nearly 3 weeks and it was at a market.

There were also fried crickets, but to be fair, they were more bar food and I haven’t been to a bar. I only had them before because a friend got some from her dad. One other thing I really miss is the ho dok or however you spell them. They are little pieces of pan-fried bread with cinnamon and sugar inside them like a pocket. I have seen them once in a market, but they used to be easy to find among the plentiful street vendors.

What are some things I’ve eaten lately instead? I went to a market and had some boiled pig skin. To be honest, I hate skin—chicken skin, dog skin (from my previous trip), and whatever other skin I might have tried. I enjoy living things having skin covering them, but that’s about as far as my appreciation for skin goes. However, like nearly everything in Korea, it’s ‘good for me.’ They say young women eat it for the collogen. Well, it wasn’t disgusting, so there’s that. Of all the skin I’ve eaten, while I’m sure the preparation plays a big part, this was the ‘best’ skin I’ve had. Sorry, Colonel Sanders. Your 11 herbs and spices just don’t fix the fact that I’m still eating epidermis. But also, I won’t go out looking for this boiled pig skin again. If a handsome man’s mother served it to me, I’d eat it with a smile on my face and compliment on my lips, but that’s the only case I’ll try it again.

Chicken feet—Apparently, they come bone in or out. I got the boneless ones without knowing it. It’s all she was offering at the market. Edible. But the same with the boiled pig skin—only when served by a handsome man’s mother would I eat them again.

Blood sausage…yeah, not even that mother could get me to eat that again. If she tried to force me, he and I would have to break up. Sorry, dude. No one is worth eating blood sausage for.

Some drinks I’ve enjoyed here include aloe juice as well as aloe and watermelon juice. Yum!

I’ve had avocado juice, which was really more a smoothie, but while they sold smoothies and juices, they listed this under “Juice” for some reason. It contained avocado, water, milk, what was probably a sugar-water solution, and ice all blended together. Sounds like a smoothie to me, but it was good, whatever it’s called.

I’ve also had a pine drink. Now, I’ve had pine needle tea in the States and wasn’t impressed. Drinkable, but only for the high level of scurvy-preventing vitamin C. (Yes, I’d keep dating that handsome guy if I was served this by his mother and I’d smile when she poured me more.) But here, they seemed to mix it with lemon, I think. That makes it actually pretty good.

Sorry, my word counter says that’s the end.


Word Count: 750

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