Do you love poké? Here are four places to give it a try in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Pyeongtaek has poké! I love that we have a few options for poké in our little city of Pyeongtaek. Sometimes it feels like a dream that I can live in the countryside and this many options for international food options. For a long time, we had no poké, then we had magical poké that lasted for a moment but nobody went, and now the western-style sushi restaurants have caught on to the trend and offer simple poké options. What I am trying to say is that Pyeongtaek is still in the infancy of what poké can be. We need to help develop the scene. What do I mean by such a statement? Well, when we lived in Seattle, poké was a big part of our lives. There was a substantial Hawaiian population in Seattle serving delicious food from the islands. We loved their mix and match poké bowls with lots of options and creative flavors. This is NOT the style of poké available in Pyeongtaek as of 2021. The current poké bowls in Pyeongtaek often have simple flavors and tend to have a rice-to-toppings ratio that I don’t prefer. They use a lot of rice in a way that leans toward bibimbap rather than poké. A little something to know before you go. Does the poké taste exactly like my favorite spot back home? Probably not. I hope “tasting exactly like home” is not an expectation when dining out in a foreign country even when it is close to a US military base. We all come from different places with different expectations. For example, feel free to burn me for being a witch, I prefer the Hawaiian-made Seattle poké to poké I ate during my time in Hawaii. Additionally, I ate poké the last time I had poké in Seattle was about 6 years ago and 15 years ago in Hawaii! I’m sure that the flavors of the dish have changed a lot in my mind and in reality since that time. Here are a few things to keep in mind when eating poké or anything else in Korea: The cold hard truth is that eating your favorite things, like poké, far from your home is a double-edged sword. Since Korea is not exactly like home, eating your favorite dish might trigger intense feelings of homesickness and frustration that things aren’t exactly like home here. Maybe the chef makes the poké with too much rice, doesn’t have the right sauces, or uses different types of fish, etc. These are issues that I have come across which put me off some poké bowls. That said, each restaurant does its best. Most are also open to doing better if they know what that means. That’s where self-advocacy comes in! You can help restaurants meet your expectations! I love it when folks advocate for what they love! I also, selfishly, would love to see the concepts of poké fully explored in Pyeongtaek. So I’m going to advocate for myself by encouraging poké lovers to advocate for more poké options. If you want to see changes to the poké, offer up suggestions in writing. The staff might not fully understand your verbal explanation, so writing it down can help a lot. I’m not saying the restaurant will change for you at that moment, but written feedback provides them with user data that can help them better serve you and others. Over the years, I have seen tons of restaurants adjust to feedback in ways that I feel (based on my cultural expectations) greatly improved their menu and service as they relate to foreign guests. Basically, I’m hoping everyone who loves poké will eat more poké and advocate for more poké options! That said, here are the places you can try poké in Pyeongtaek. Poké near Camp Humphreys Poké near Osan Air Force Base We encourage you to leave reviews in the South of Seoul app for all of these restaurants! Reviews help everyone! Lanae Rivers-Woods, MAITLanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master’s of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert. Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities. Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea. When she isn’t in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains. www.southofseoul.net

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