The Day I Sat Down for Lunch and There Were 10 Plates and I Panicked


I moved to Seoul. Six weeks in.


Went to a restaurant for lunch. Alone. Ordered “one meal.”


The lady brought out… a bowl of rice. A bowl of soup. And then plates. One. Two. Three. She kept going.


By plate seven I started sweating. By plate ten I wanted to apologize.


I thought “I only ordered ONE thing.” She thought “Yes. This IS one thing.”


I looked at my table. It looked like a feast for a king. I was just one guy in a hoodie.


I ate one bite of each plate. Got full. Half the food was still there. I felt like I failed a test. Paid and left. My stomach and my pride were both uncomfortable.


A beautifully arranged traditional Korean meal with rice, doenjang jjigae soup, multiple banchan side dishes, and barley tea on a wooden table

I Found Out the Brown Jars in the Yard Are Not Decoration


I went to a traditional house. Hanok. For tourism.


Outside there were big brown jars. Like 20 of them. In the yard. Lids on.


I thought “Wow. Cool decoration. Very aesthetic.” Took a picture for Instagram.


My friend walked up. Opened one. It was full of brown paste. Thick. It smelled… strong.


He said “This is food.” I said “...in the yard?”


He said “Yeah. It lives there.”


I backed away slowly. I don’t trust food that lives outside in a jar. But apparently everyone here does. I still don’t get it. I just nod when I see the jars now.


Traditional Korean earthenware onggi pots filled with doenjang and gochujang fermenting on the stone terrace of a traditional Korean house

I Tried to Eat All the Vegetables and Lost


I went to another restaurant. Different place. Same thing happened.


Rice. Soup. And eight little plates. All vegetables. Spinach. Bean sprouts. Radish. Stuff I can’t name. Some green. Some brown. One was fern. I’ve never eaten fern before.


I tried to be polite. Took a bite of each. There were so many.


By plate five my jaw was tired from chewing. By plate seven I was full. Plate eight just stared at me.


I left three plates untouched. The lady came to clear the table. She didn’t say anything. But I felt her judging me.


Now I know: the vegetables win. Always. I don’t fight them anymore. I just eat the spinach and surrender.


A Korean home kitchen table with multiple seasonal vegetable banchan dishes alongside rice and clear soup

I Asked for Water and They Gave Me Hot Tea Instead


I was thirsty. At a restaurant. I said “Water, please.”


The lady brought me a cup. It was hot. And brown. And tasted like grain.


I said “...is this water?” She said “Tea.”


I was confused. It was lunch. Not tea time. But everyone else was drinking it too. With their meals. Like it was normal.


I drank it. It was fine. Warm. Not sweet.


Now when I go to restaurants I don’t ask for water anymore. I just accept the brown tea. I don’t fight the tea. The tea wins too.


I still don’t know what grain it is. Don’t care. It’s free and it’s wet.


A small traditional Korean baekban restaurant with full Korean meal spreads of rice, soup, and multiple banchan dishes on wooden tables

Summary


I thought Korean food was just BBQ and spicy noodles.


Turns out it’s 10 plates when you order one thing. Food that lives in jars outside. More vegetables than I can chew. And hot brown tea instead of water.


📌 Things I Noticed


  • The plates multiply: You order one meal. You get a feast. Don’t panic like I did.
  • The jars are not décor: They’re full of food. Do not open them. Just nod respectfully.
  • If you’re new: You will not finish all the vegetables. It’s okay. Nobody finishes them. I think.

This is just what happened to me. I don’t know why the food is like this. I’m not a chef. Don’t ask me for recipes. I once got scared of a soup and a rice bowl because they brought eight friends.

👉 Discover more Korea guides here

You may also be interested in:

👉 [Next in this series]:  The Day I Went to a Korean Gym in My Street Shoes and Everyone Stared at Me

👉 [Previously in this series]:  The Day I Walked Into a Korean Pharmacy Thinking It Was a Convenience Store


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