The trap Japanese tourists fall into on their first trip to Korea

A Japanese tourist's comic recounts his first meal in Korea, marveling at free side dishes he never ordered.

Translated by Klore · Published

Source & context
Trending on a Korean communityView original post ↗
● Some K-contextFoodCulture shockHow much Korea-context this story assumes. English translations and context by Klore.
Community postEnglish translation
Anonymous

The trap Japanese tourists fall into on their first trip to Korea한국 처음 여행온 일본인들이 당하는 함정

I figured lots of Japanese tourists come here, so plenty of restaurants would speak Japanese.일본 여행객도 많이 와서 일본어가 통하는 가게가 많다고 생각했습니다

Unordered food just keeps showing up when you eat in Korea. Wild.한국에서 식사를 하면 왜인지 주문하지 않은 것들이 마구 나옵니다. 신기합니다

Guess I'll dig in!! First, grab the rice bowl...잘 먹겠습니다!! 우선 밥그릇을 들고...

※Trap alert※ The bowl is hot. Watch out for the bowl with rice in it!※함정입니다※ 그릇은 뜨겁습니다. 밥이 들어있는 그릇을 조심하자!

Ow!?앗뜨!?

Trending on a Korean communityView original ↗
Korean community post, image 2: The hot metal rice bowl that just got him.
English translation
The hot metal rice bowl that just got him.

(사진: 식당 테이블 위의 뜨거운 금속 밥그릇)

💡 Wait, why's the bowl scalding hot?
Korean restaurants often run stainless-steel rice bowls through high-heat sanitizing washers right before serving, so they come out near-boiling.vs. Japan: rice bowls there are ceramic, warm but not scalding.Klore note
💡 Are all those extra dishes actually free?
Yes — banchan (side dishes) are complimentary and unlimited at most Korean restaurants, refilled without you asking.vs. the US: like free unlimited breadsticks, but it's kimchi and japchae.Klore note

What Koreans said

7 top comments on the original thread, translated
  1. 0 upvotes on the original thread
    Anon· on the original thread

    Same trap with spice levels. Asked 'is this spicy?' owner said not really, so I ordered level 5 of 10. Then locals ordered level 2 and I realized foreigners mean 'does it have spice' but Koreans mean 'will this kill me'

    이거말고도 매운거인줄 알았네요. 매운거.. 보통이면 되겟지?하고 이거 매워요?라는 말에 별로안맵다는 주인장 말 듣고 10단계중 5단계요 ^^ 주문. 그리고 뒤이어 등장한 한국 현지인들이 2단계를 시키는 것을 듣고 뭔가 잘 못되었음을 깨달았다. 해외사람: 이거 매워요?(매운맛이 있나요?) 한국사람: 이거 매워요?(먹고 뒤질만큼인가요?)

  2. 0 upvotes on the original thread
    Anon· on the original thread

    How do ajummas just casually move those burning hot bowls like it's nothing, wtf

    저걸 아무렇치도 않게 막 옮기는 아줌마들은 대체 뭐지 ㄷㄷ

  3. 0 upvotes on the original thread
    Anon· on the original thread

    Ajummas trained in iron palm technique fr

    철사장으로 단련된 이모

Read all 7 translated repliesShow fewer replies
  1. 0 upvotes on the original thread
    Anon· on the original thread

    Ajummas just grab and put food on your plate, if you grab it without thinking too lol

    아줌마들 막 집어 주시길레 생각 없이 집으면 ㅋㅋㅋ

  2. 0 upvotes on the original thread
    Anon· on the original thread

    Japanese people usually lift their rice bowl to eat so he probably just tried to do the same lol

    일본인들은 밥그릇을 들고 먹으니까 저걸 들으려고 했겠지 ㅋㅋㅋ

  3. 1 upvote on the original thread
    Anon· on the original thread

    Always wondered this too. It's this hot for me, how do they handle it??

    늘 그게 궁금했어. 난 이렇게 뜨거운데 저 사람은 어떻게??

  4. 0 upvotes on the original thread
    Anon· on the original thread

    Japanese people don't even mix their rice to begin with

    애초에 일본인들은 비벼 먹지 않음

Klore comments

Comments are closed.

Keep exploring

● Some K-contextDaily life

This guy says a maniac pounded on his door at 1am ringing the bell like crazy

A late-night poster says someone banged on their door and rang the bell like a lunatic — good thing they weren't asleep.

● Some K-contextCulture shock

Married into a Korean family for 3 years. She thought she'd seen it all — then she saw the sink

A Japanese woman living in Korea shares a culture shock moment from her mother-in-law's Chuseok prep.

10 Korean replies, translated

● Anyone gets itEntertainment

Disney+ says it's adding ads to every subscription, even Premium, starting in October

A translated French post about Disney+'s ad rollout is going around — and someone answered it with a meme.

12 Korean replies, translated

More stories from the Korean internet, in English.

Browse the latest posts →