Korea’s 600-year-old capital city, Seoul, has a wide variety of restaurants providing country-style Korean food. These delectable tastes come from people who have brought their local tastes while seeking refuge in Seoul during the Korean War, or from people who have moved to Seoul to take part in the economic and cultural center of the country. To survive the intense competition with millions of other restaurants, the country food in Seoul has made their food taste even better than that in its original place. For instance, one of the most well-known country foods, Jeonju Bibimbab, is said to be tastier in Seoul than in Jeonju itself.

who took refuge in the South during the Korean War. The exquisite flavors of North Korean food are difficult to find, even for the citizens of Seoul. North Korean food is well-known to be served in abundant quantities and is not as salty or greasy as its southern provincial counterparts due to its colder climate, making it more desirable to the tastes of foreigners.

Foreigners may question why the food is more bland in the colder provinces. Since Korea’s winter is long, fermented foods and foods that could be preserved for longer periods of time became much more well-developed. Therefore, in the warmer climates of the South, food had to become saltier and spicier for the purpose of preservation, whereas in the North, food did not need such preservation methods with its colder climate, and instead emphasized the importance of nutrition in their ingredients. Unlike the South, the North generally ate meat dishes rather than seafoods, developing meals centered around one dish. Popular dishes of North Korea include Pyeongyang Naengmyeon (buckwheat noodles), Hamheung Naengmyeon(buckwheat noodles), dumplings, Onbab, Kimchimaribap, Eobokjaengban, and more.

Four popular North Korean restaurants were carefully selected, each representing different types of food and then visited by a Japanese mother and daughter on a trip to taste the foods of Korea, Hideko Haruta and Satoko Haruta.