K-POP IDOLS' FAVORITE KOREAN STREET FOOD
We all like good Korean street food (gilgeori eumsik; 길거리 음식). And so do our favorite idols. Today, we’re looking at K-pop artists and the street food they like to eat.
We’re sorry if we make you hungry!
Tteokbokki
We’ll start with a dish everyone’s familiar with: tteokbokki (떡볶이). These rice cakes are usually cooked in a spicy sauce, and there are variations like rose-tteokbokki, galbi-tteokbokki, and gungjung or gangjang-tteokbokki).
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
MAMAMOO leader Solar loves tteokbokki. She likes visiting tteokbokki restaurants and even ate 5 metre-long tteokbokki for Farmers’ Day!
TWICE member Jeongyeon also has a soft spot for these rice cakes. She made ONCEs’ mouths water with her Daechi-dong Cheese Tteokbokki mukbang. And her dad made the group an amazing tteokbokki with ramyeon (rabokki; 라볶이) on the show “We Like Zines.”
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Fried Chicken
Who doesn’t love fried chicken? You can get different kinds, including sweet and crispy (dakgangjeong; 닭강정) and with gochujang (yangnyeom-chikin; 양념치킨). And there are many fried chicken restaurants and street stalls for people to choose from.
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First up: EXO and SuperM member Kai. He’s gone on chicken-only diets and competed against his fellow members for the title of “chicken mania.”
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Then there’s SHINee leader Onew. He’s dressed up as Colonel Sanders (KFC’s mascot) for Halloween. He and member Key (dressed as McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald) appeared in a KFC Spain meme compilation in August 2022.
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And we can’t forget THE BOYZ’s Hyunjae. He can tell the brand of chicken by the smell and the parts of a chicken just by looking at it. Now that’s one talent TheBs would like to have!
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Dakbal and Jokbal
It might be strange for Western readers, but chicken feet (dakbal; 닭발) and pig trotters (족발) are popular with Koreans. Dakbal is usually spicy, while jokbal can be served with or without spices. Extra spicy jokbal is called “fire jokbal” (buljokbal; 불족발).
(L-R: dakbal, jokbal/Credits to the rightful owner)
SISTAR member Soyou is one person who likes her dakbal hot. She’s eaten the dish on several TV shows, including once with her older sister Bokyung.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
As for jokbal, there are two girl group members who are obsessed with it: Lovelyz’s Kei and TWICE’s Momo. In an episode of “The Gifted,” they shared spicy jokbal and shared their dreams of eating the best jokbal in Korea.
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Momo loves jokbal so much, she even came up with a dance for it!
Galbi
Now it’s time for galbi (갈비). It’s usually made with beef short ribs, but it can also be made with pork spareribs or chicken. Galbi is typically marinated, grilled, cut with scissors, and then wrapped in leaves and eaten in ssam (쌈). It can also be cooked in stews.
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BTS’ Suga has made “plans” with fellow member Jin to open a galbi restaurant. He’s also cooked galbi and stir-fried spicy chicken (dak-galbi; 닭갈비) several times for the group.
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Chicken galbi is one of EXO member Chanyeol’s favorite dishes. It also led to a hilarious interaction between him and actor Lee Seung-gi in 2019. After Chanyeol posted a picture of chicken galbi on Instagram, Lee Seung-gi wrote that “good things should be shared.”
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Chanyeol apparently bought the actor some food, because a few days later, Lee Seung-gi posted another message. He thanked Chanyeol for a delicious meal and called him “hyung,” even though the idol is a few years younger!
Hotteok
Last but not least, the delicious hotteok (호떡). It’s a pancake that comes with different fillings: brown sugar and nuts (the classic), corn, and even japchae. It’s a great treat if you’re walking outside on a cold winter’s evening.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Want proof of its popularity? Look no further than BTS! During a break at one of their concerts, RM posted on Weverse that he wanted hotteok.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Luckily, the staff brought some for the members. J-hope posted a picture of the food…
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
and Jin and RM shared selfies of themselves eating it.
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Thanks to V, the other members’ faces appeared on Weverse, starting with Jungkook…
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J-hope…
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V himself, Suga, and Jimin.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
BTS are always looking for ways to share Korean culture, and this was one of their tastiest moments!
Have you tried any of these foods? Which one did you like the most? Let us know what you want to try next!
Author: SUJI SOHN
About the author: Suji was studying in London in the year 2019 and, although being separated from her family, her passion for Korea was growing. She noticed that a lot of her close friends loved Korean culture, food, music, and dramas and gradually started to fall in love with Korea, but there weren't many opportunities to actually "experience" this wonderful nation!
Suji was aware of what she needed to do to introduce Korea to her friends' lives and, conceivably, to those of everyone else who was curious about a piece of Daehan Min-guk.
