When you go to South Korea, don't say cheese, say Kimchi

dubai - From feasting on octopus to admiring couples in matchy-matchy clothes (a thing in South Korea) and buying a haul of beauty products, Seoul should be on everyone's bucket list. The city can surprise you

Ahead of my travel to Seoul and other South Korean cities, friends had warned me of the cuisine's acute spice levels and all the food that I simply had to try out. Kimchi, noodles, bibimbap, dumplings and soju were constantly recommended.
For the uninitiated, kimchi is a side dish in Korean cuisine. While rice is a staple in the diet, kimchi is a spicy and sour dish made up of fermented vegetables. It is prepared with various kinds of ingredients, but the most common one is cabbage. And bibimbap is a bowl of rice, seasoned and sautéed vegetables, mushrooms, beef, soy sauce, chili pepper paste and a fried egg.
However, I wanted to try street food in Seoul. The first was poop-shaped scones and bread in cafes lining the streets of Insadong in Seoul. The South Koreans love their toilet humour and I was initially aghast to enter a poop-themed café that served toilet-themed treats and coffee in toilet-shaped bowls, topped with poop-shaped latte art. The coiled scones resemble the poop emoji and are served in a squat toilet dish. The café also had a poop-themed décor.
The next dish that threw me off was raw beef with octopus. Although the octopuses are killed before being cut into small pieces and served, the nerve activity in the octopus' tentacles makes the pieces squirm on the plate when served. So, we had to wait until the octopus came to a complete rest before devouring the food.
Called sannakji, the octopus legs will put up a fight - we were warned to be careful since some people have choked on particularly large pieces. Although it may initially put you off to look at a moving plate of octopus legs, I assure you, it's a dining experience you will never forget.
My guide also told me that dog is still considered a delicacy in some provinces of South Korea and served in some restaurants and street markets. However, with animal activists protesting against this tradition, it's not a common sight in Korea any longer. A special breed of dog is bred for its meat and pet dogs are usually not eaten.
Other quirky sights
While it was common to see Korean women wearing short skirts, I was told that revealing clothes including bare shoulders are a complete no-no, according to the conservative Confucian culture. There is a reason why the traditional Korean dress, the hanbok, covers the entire body.
It is common to see girls wearing hanboks roaming the streets of Seoul from Gangnam to Gangbuk for a photo op with tourists. However, the dress is still largely reserved for special occasions.
Finding a South Korean who speaks English can be an arduous task as they are generally embarrassed to speak English to foreigners. Despite knowing English, we found that the Koreans were shy and reluctant to converse in the language - thinking they would rather wait until their diction and vocabulary are perfect. However, this is slowly changing with the younger generation who are educated abroad.
Another mannerism of Koreans that piqued my interest was the 'finger hearts' gesture used while posing for photos. The gesture is created by crossing the thumb and index finger. It is ubiquitous while taking selfies and group photos. And when taking a photo, South Koreans will also say "kimchi" instead of "cheese".
'Couple looks' are also a fad in South Korea. Koreans love to walk down streets in matching couple wear. Foreigners may find it cheesy but matching outfits have emerged as a popular style for love-struck youngsters. It is also a result of Koreans' fixation on appearances. The country is said to have the highest per-capita plastic surgery rate in the world.
Korean women's love for cosmetics is also well-documented. I returned from Korea with a good haul of face packs, creams and other lotions. Korean women are so obsessed with good looks that a majority of them go under the knife for double-eyelid and jaw-trimming surgeries, to name a few.
I also visited the holiday island of Jeju, where I was taken to see the Yakcheonsa temple. Stone statues known as dol hareubang (old grandfather) were found along the way to the shrine. It is believed that if women touch the statues' long, broad noses, they will be blessed with fertility. I didn't miss my chance. Time for a visit from the stork, maybe?
- deepthi@khaleejtimes.com
Deepthi writes on property, loves to be in the thick of all that's fun in Dubai and is a travel nut