Would you like to step out of your bacon and eggs breakfast routine and try something new? Join us in exploring Korea’s tradition of dinner for breakfast. It’s a delicious and filling way to start the day. Breakfast in South Korea Breakfast looks different around the world. In South Korea breakfast may consist of soup, side dishes, and rice. Favorite breakfast soups include galbitang, kongnamul bap, kimchijjigae, or manduguk. There is also a side dish meal called baekban which consists of a small bowl of soup with many side dishes. If people are in a hurry, they will often just grab a kimbap at the corner store and call it good. Budaejjigae = 부대찌개 Kimchijjigae = 김치찌개 Galbitang = 갈비탕 Gamjatang = 감자탕 BaekBan = 백반 What It Feels Like to Eat Korean Breakfast Although this might seem odd at first, Korean breakfast can quickly become a way of life once you get used to it. That’s because galbitang with rice and a few side dishes makes you feel like you could take on the world. You are full but not weighed down. For me, I feel full but not groggy straight through to lunch. No snacks are needed. These days I will choose a Korean breakfast 9 times out of 10 because it gives me energy instead of making me want to crawl back in bed. How to Know If a Restaurant Serves Breakfast Interestingly, finding out which restaurants serve breakfast isn’t always easy. They will usually have the information posted on their door but rarely advertise it online. CLICK HERE to read more about how to know who serves breakfast. Below you will find five places I go for Korean breakfast regularly. Try a few of them and see what you think. Korean breakfast might be your thing or it might not. Either way, it’s worth a try just in order to experience how another culture experiences the start of their day. Korean ‘Lunch Counters’ You will notice that the following list has many ‘Korean ‘lunch counter’ options. These types of restaurants are all across Korean in almost every populated neighborhood. They are the perfect spots to grab a quick affordable breakfast such as kimbap. Such breakfast spots can also often be found near transportation hubs such as bus terminals and subway stations. 10 Spots for Korean Breakfast in Pyeongtaek Here are spots we grab breakfast across Pyeongtaek. We usually arrive 30 minutes after their “open” time to give them time to get organized and moving in the am. Most countryside spots arrive right when they say they open which means there might still be some things to do before they can get breakfast on the table. This is true about some places, but not all. We just arrive a little later to be safe. 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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