South Korean vs French food & cuisine

Charcoal grilling and stone-pot cooking are common, contrasting with China’s wok-centered stir-frying and Japan’s frequent raw or lightly handled seafood; grilling at the table is especially characteristic in Korea.

The idea behind a meal is to enjoy the moment. That is the French way. French meals are ritualistic, often with multiple courses of small portions aimed at enjoying a meal slowly, which contrasts with the simpler, faster eating in other European cultures.

Most meals include bread and wine. Wine is hardly a separable part of French dining culture; it’s seen as a cultural product, not just as an alcoholic beverage.

Traditional cooking used cast-iron pots, leaving a toasted crust called nurungji, which is eaten as a snack or brewed into sungnyung, a roasted rice water drunk after meals to refresh the palate.  In everyday meals, the default white rice is plain. But Korea also has a tradition of various mixed baps.

In Korea, noodles (guksu) are popular but secondary to rice. Unlike China or Japan, where noodles hold deep cultural weight, in Korea they remain complementary.

Rice noodles are rare; buckwheat, wheat, and sweet potato starch dominate. Sweet potato starch gave rise to japchae’s glass noodles. Noodles appear as hot soups, cold broths, or stir-fried dishes, served hot or at room temperature.

Barley often substituted rice, and many households still mix it into rice. Barley tea (bori-cha) is the default table drink. Corn, more common in the north, was eaten roasted, boiled, ground for porridge (oksusu-juk), or mixed with rice; corn tea (oksusu-cha) is also standard.

Wheat was historically scarce, but became central in knife-cut noodles, buckwheat blends and dumplings mandu.

Modern French wheat consumption is actually moderate compared to many other countries. The average person consumes about 50 kg of bread annually.  Unlike some cultures where bread is a staple accompaniment to every meal, French consume it in a more structured manner:  at breakfast and almost at every following meal later, but portion sizes are smaller, and diet is diversified.

In French cuisine, rice, corn, and other grains play a minor role compared to wheat.

Kimchi began as salted vegetables; chili peppers from the Americas transformed it into the spicy red napa cabbage style by the 18th century. Garlic, ginger, scallions, chili, and fish sauce give depth. Koreans eat 36–40 kg of kimchi per person yearly, though consumption has declined in recent decades due to lifestyle shifts, sodium concerns, and changing habits.

Meals also include namul (seasoned greens), braised roots, and pickles. Popular dishes: jeon (zucchini, scallion, or kimchi pancakes), japchae (sweet potato noodles with vegetables), and ssam (greens used as wrappers for rice, condiments, or meat).

Legumes are central: soybeans for tofu, soybean sprouts (kongnamul), soy milk for kongguksu noodles, and fermented condiments (doenjang, ganjang, gochujang). Mung beans appear in bindaetteok (pancakes) and nokdumuk (starch jelly). Azuki beans are used in rice cakes, breads, and patjuk porridge.

The sea contributes fish, algae, and seaweeds – another essential plant-based element of Korean cuisine.

Asian pears, persimmons, apples, citrus, melons, and berries are popular in South Korea. Asian pears and persimmons were especially important, as gifts, in ceremonies, in traditional medicine, as meat marinades, and all over art and poetry.

Common preparations are glazing and steaming in their own juices with butter. The concept of garniture, or vegetable accompaniments, is important, and it includes jardinière (mixed diced vegetables) or printanière (spring vegetables) preparations.

Mirepoix is a foundational combination of diced onions, carrots, and celery, which is a key component in stocks, soups, and stews, subtly infusing dishes with flavor base.

The French also have a fondness for wild mushrooms; they are passionate about foraging.

The French prefer perfectly ripe fruits eaten at their peak. Popular are apples, pears, cherries, plums, grapes, and stone fruits. The French have perfected the art of poaching fruits in wine or sugar syrups, as seen in classics like poires belle hélène – poached pear.

Koreans were historically farmers; rice and grains anchored meals, and meat was secondary. Buddhism discouraged slaughter, keeping meat less central, but beef held symbolic weight in Confucian rituals.

Pork surged in popularity after the Korean War, becoming the most common meat in South Korea’s growing economy. Chicken was traditionally valued in soups and stews for nourishment, but in the late 20th century, fried chicken became a national phenomenon. Today, crispy twice-fried chicken with sweet or spicy sauces is a leading export, paired with beer in “chimaek” culture.

Korean meat dishes avoid large roasts or steaks. Meat is cut thin, bite-sized, or ground – once to stretch scarce meat, and also to ease marination, grilling, and sharing. No knives appear at the table; food is served ready for chopsticks and spoons.

Korean barbecue stems from older grilling but took shape in the 20th century. Bulgogi dates back over 1,000 years, yet grilling was not a daily fare. By the 1970s–80s, with rising incomes, restaurants popularized table-top grilling. Today, Korean BBQ – especially pork belly (samgyeopsal) – is central in South Korea and globalized across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Charcuterie represents another crucial part of French cuisine. The art of making pâtés, terrines, sausages, rillettes – potted meat slow-cooked in fat, galantines – lean ground poached meat pressed into a cylindrical shape, and other preserved meats is a developed craft.

Regional meat preparations vary widely throughout France. The southwest is famous for duck and goose, particularly confit de canard – duck leg and foie gras – fatty liver. Burgundy is known for boeuf bourguignon; Alsace has a pork tradition influenced by German culture. Coastal regions naturally developed around seafood, while inland around poultry and red meat.

The French affinity for duck and goose is distinctive in how these birds are prepared. Unlike other cuisines that treat duck as a specialty, French cuisine incorporates it into everyday cooking through duck confit, duck breast, and duck fat for cooking. In southwestern France, duck and goose fat are traditionally replaced by olive oil or butter as the primary cooking fat.

French cuisine has developed sophisticated preparations for wild boar, venison, rabbit, and game birds.

The French approach to organ meats and offal is more elaborate than that of other Western cuisines – they elevate them to haute cuisine. Foie gras, ris de veau – sweetbreads, rognons à la moutarde – kidneys in mustard sauce, cervelles au beurre noir – brain in brown butter, are offal delicacies.

The stereotypes might suggest that the French eat snails and frogs often.  Frog legs were once a protein of necessity in rural areas. In contemporary gastronomy, frogs’ legs occupy an interesting position between tradition and novelty. Despite their association with French cuisine internationally, today, people rarely eat frogs’ legs, or many have never tried them.

Koreans eat raw fish quite often, but also differently from Japanese sashimi. Seafood is sliced thicker and chewier, hoe is almost always eaten with sauces, as a part of the bigger spread, often eaten on social occasions and followed by beer.

A very important to Korean flavor identity is jeotgal,  a category of salted, fermented seafood. Tiny shrimp, anchovies, oysters, roe, or crab are preserved into condiments that power kimchi, appear as punchy side dishes, or become fish sauces aekjeot.

The Atlantic Brittany and Normandy are known for shellfish, particularly oysters, which are slurped raw with a squeeze of lemon and a light mignonette (shallots and vinegar) sauce. The Atlantic coast is also rich in lobsters, which are served grilled or in more elaborate dishes like homard à l’armoricaine. Normandy is famous for scallops – coquilles Saint-Jacques,  and moules marinières – mussels dish.

The Mediterranean coast offers a different seafood –  red mullet (rouget), sea bass (loup), and John Dory (saint-pierre) are grilled with olive oil, tomatoes, and Provençe herbs.

Fresh milk is not traditionally consumed much as a beverage, but crème fraîche – cultured cream – is fundamental.

Also essential in French cooking, especially in sauces and pastries, is butter: it must be at least 82% fat, while 80% is a standard in many countries. France has traditionally been divided into two butter regions: the north and west, like Brittany and Normandy, where salted butter is preferred, and the central and eastern regions, where unsalted butter dominates.

The most important dairy product, which has its own course in a multi-course meal, is cheese – le fromage. A well-composed cheese board features three to five varieties, selected to provide a progression of flavors and textures from milder to stronger throughout the course.

Beyond a standalone course, cheese is vital in cooking, from the humble croque monsieur to cheese soufflés, gratins, and quiches.

Korean desserts are subtle and light, made of rice, beans, grains, nuts, honey, and fruits. The sweetness is delicate, just enough to balance bitterness. Chewy texture is very preferred, also crunchiness, or soft pressed sweets that dissolve on the tongue. Visually, many are shaped with molds, decorated with patterns, or colored naturally with plants.  Tea-culture roots and ritual/seasonal usage keep portions small.

French desserts extensively use of butter, particularly in laminated doughs for croissants and puff pastry. They typically feature a more restrained level of sweetness compared to American, Middle Eastern, or Indian desserts, but place enormous emphasis on visual presentation. Other cultures certainly care about how desserts look, but French pâtisserie takes it to another level, treating each piece as a small work of art.