Korean menu decoder: what these dishes are, and what they cost
You do not need Korean to eat well in Seoul. You need about 60 dish names — and, more usefully, a sense of what each one normally costs, so you can tell a fair menu from an optimistic one.
This table is generated from the menus this site has already collected: 5,549 priced dishes across 352 restaurants, grouped into dish families. The prices are medians of what these restaurants actually charge, not estimates, and the range column shows how far the same dish travels between a market counter and a Gangnam dining room.
| Dish | What it actually is | Median | Range | Restaurants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 회덮밥 Hoedeopbap | Raw fish over rice with vegetables and gochujang. A cold, sharp lunch. | ₩13,000 | ₩10,000–₩27,000 | 6 |
| 물냉면 Mul-naengmyeon | Buckwheat noodles in an icy beef broth. Cut it with vinegar and mustard; don't skip them. | ₩12,000 | ₩5,900–₩16,000 | 17 |
| 비빔냉면 Bibim-naengmyeon | The same noodles without the broth, dressed in chilli paste. Hotter than it looks. | ₩13,000 | ₩7,500–₩18,000 | 19 |
| 냉면 Naengmyeon | Cold buckwheat noodles, in broth or sauce. Summer food that Koreans eat year-round. | ₩12,000 | ₩6,000–₩20,000 | 28 |
| 막국수 Makguksu | Chewier, coarser buckwheat noodles from Gangwon. Naengmyeon's country cousin. | ₩12,000 | ₩8,000–₩40,000 | 8 |
| 칼국수 Kalguksu | Hand-cut wheat noodles in an anchovy or chicken broth. Lunch, not dinner. | ₩11,000 | ₩7,500–₩30,000 | 16 |
| 콩국수 Kongguksu | Noodles in chilled soy-bean broth. Unsweetened, faintly savoury, entirely a summer thing. | ₩13,000 | ₩8,500–₩16,000 | 15 |
| 삼겹살 Samgyeopsal | Pork belly grilled at the table. Two portions minimum per pair — it's the house rule everywhere. | ₩17,000 | ₩6,000–₩38,000 | 28 |
| 목살 Moksal | Pork collar. Leaner than samgyeopsal and harder to overcook. | ₩18,000 | ₩7,500–₩38,000 | 31 |
| 닭갈비 Dakgalbi | Chicken stir-fried with rice cake and cabbage in gochujang, on a hot plate. | ₩15,000 | ₩13,000–₩16,000 | 3 |
| 갈비탕 Galbitang | Short-rib soup, clear and unspicy. The safe order at a Korean table. | ₩16,000 | ₩13,000–₩38,000 | 14 |
| 갈비 Galbi | Marinated short ribs, grilled. The expensive end of Korean barbecue. | ₩25,000 | ₩6,000–₩250,000 | 66 |
| 불고기 Bulgogi | Thin marinated beef, grilled or pan-cooked in its own sweet juices. The gateway dish. | ₩17,000 | ₩8,000–₩69,000 | 37 |
| 제육 Jeyuk-bokkeum | Pork stir-fried in gochujang. The default Korean working lunch. | ₩14,000 | ₩4,500–₩130,000 | 35 |
| 비빔밥 Bibimbap | Rice, vegetables, egg and chilli paste, mixed at the table. The dish everyone already knows. | ₩12,000 | ₩3,000–₩28,200 | 27 |
| 김치찌개 Kimchi-jjigae | Aged kimchi stewed with pork or tuna. Sour, hot, and the reason old kimchi exists. | ₩9,750 | ₩5,000–₩30,000 | 18 |
| 된장찌개 Doenjang-jjigae | Fermented soybean stew. Funkier than miso and not a substitute for it. | ₩7,750 | ₩3,000–₩16,000 | 21 |
| 순두부 Sundubu-jjigae | Silken tofu stew, usually with an egg cracked in at the table. | ₩11,000 | ₩7,000–₩55,000 | 15 |
| 부대찌개 Budae-jjigae | Army stew: spam, sausage, ramyeon and kimchi. A 1950s improvisation that never left. | ₩17,900 | ₩7,500–₩45,000 | 9 |
| 청국장 Cheonggukjang | Hard-fermented soybean stew. It smells like a dare and tastes better than it smells. | ₩9,750 | ₩7,000–₩17,000 | 8 |
| 설렁탕 Seolleongtang | Ox-bone broth simmered milky white. Salt it yourself; it arrives deliberately bland. | ₩13,500 | ₩6,000–₩22,000 | 5 |
| 곰탕 Gomtang | Clear beef soup, cleaner and lighter than seolleongtang. | ₩13,000 | ₩9,000–₩30,000 | 14 |
| 도가니 Dogani-tang | Beef knuckle-tendon soup. Gelatinous, restorative, an acquired texture. | ₩25,000 | ₩9,000–₩70,000 | 6 |
| 육개장 Yukgaejang | Shredded beef and chilli soup with fern and scallion. Spicy and deeply savoury. | ₩11,000 | ₩8,000–₩16,000 | 11 |
| 감자탕 Gamjatang | Pork-spine and potato stew for a table. Rarely a solo order. | ₩40,500 | ₩11,000–₩75,000 | 4 |
| 해장국 Haejang-guk | Literally hangover soup. Ox blood, cabbage and bean sprouts, at any hour. | ₩12,000 | ₩6,000–₩39,000 | 8 |
| 국밥 Gukbap | Soup with the rice already in it. A category, not a dish. | ₩12,000 | ₩10,000–₩16,000 | 8 |
| 족발 Jokbal | Braised pig trotter, sliced, eaten cold with salted shrimp. Sharing food. | ₩44,000 | ₩17,000–₩76,000 | 5 |
| 보쌈 Bossam | Boiled pork belly wrapped in cabbage with kimchi. Jokbal's milder sibling. | ₩36,000 | ₩3,000–₩55,000 | 10 |
| 탕수육 Tangsuyuk | Sweet-and-sour fried pork. Sauce poured over or served beside — the argument is real. | ₩31,000 | ₩11,000–₩45,000 | 6 |
| 수육 Suyuk | Plain boiled meat, sliced. The price is for a platter, not a portion. | ₩39,500 | ₩9,000–₩125,000 | 36 |
| 육회 Yukhoe | Raw seasoned beef with pear and egg yolk. Gwangjang Market's signature dare. | ₩26,000 | ₩5,000–₩56,000 | 29 |
| 곱창 Gopchang | Grilled beef or pork intestine. Rich, chewy, drinking food. | ₩26,000 | ₩7,500–₩69,000 | 13 |
| 막창 Makchang | The last stomach chamber, grilled. More intense than gopchang. | ₩22,000 | ₩17,000–₩29,000 | 4 |
| 만두국 Manduguk | Dumpling soup. Standard New Year food, available all year. | ₩10,000 | ₩8,000–₩17,000 | 14 |
| 만두 Mandu | Dumplings, steamed or fried. Kalguksu shops make the best ones. | ₩10,000 | ₩700–₩54,000 | 49 |
| 떡볶이 Tteokbokki | Rice cakes in sweet chilli sauce. Spicier than it looks; order twigim to mop it up. | ₩14,500 | ₩4,500–₩28,000 | 16 |
| 김밥 Gimbap | Seaweed rice rolls. Not sushi and not trying to be. | ₩5,500 | ₩4,000–₩10,000 | 3 |
| 순대 Sundae | Blood sausage with noodle filling. Sold with liver and lung; ask for salt. | ₩15,000 | ₩10,000–₩54,000 | 4 |
| 파전 Pajeon | Scallion pancake, often with seafood. Rain food, traditionally with makgeolli. | ₩18,000 | ₩3,500–₩30,000 | 15 |
| 잡채 Japchae | Sweet-potato glass noodles with vegetables and beef. Party food. | ₩22,000 | ₩11,900–₩45,000 | 6 |
| 짜장면 Jjajangmyeon | Noodles in black bean sauce. Korean-Chinese, not Chinese. | ₩8,000 | ₩6,000–₩10,000 | 5 |
| 짬뽕 Jjamppong | Spicy seafood noodle soup. The other half of the Korean-Chinese order. | ₩14,000 | ₩6,000–₩28,000 | 16 |
| 치킨 Chicken | Korean fried chicken. Half-and-half (plain plus yangnyeom glaze) is the standard order. | ₩15,900 | ₩3,500–₩59,700 | 45 |
| 낙지 Nakji | Small octopus, usually stir-fried and genuinely hot. | ₩25,000 | ₩8,500–₩90,000 | 19 |
| 쭈꾸미 Jjukkumi | Baby octopus in chilli. Hotter than nakji and proud of it. | ₩18,900 | ₩10,000–₩36,000 | 11 |
| 장어 Jangeo | Grilled eel. Priced per fish, and summer stamina food. | ₩30,000 | ₩3,000–₩60,000 | 15 |
| 대구탕 Daegutang | Cod soup, clear and clean. A hangover order that isn't spicy. | ₩19,000 | ₩12,900–₩30,000 | 9 |
| 알탕 Altang | Fish-roe stew. Spicy, and much better than the translation suggests. | ₩15,000 | ₩8,500–₩25,000 | 10 |
| 돈까스 Donkkaseu | Korean pork cutlet — thinner, larger and sauced differently from Japanese tonkatsu. | ₩13,000 | ₩8,500–₩19,000 | 13 |
| 카츠 Katsu | The Japanese-style cutlet, usually at a specialist shop. | ₩13,900 | ₩2,500–₩28,000 | 13 |
| 초밥 Chobap (sushi) | Sushi. Korean sushi counters run cheaper and larger than Japanese ones. | ₩21,450 | ₩1,000–₩57,900 | 9 |
| 라멘 Ramen | Japanese-style ramen, distinct from instant ramyeon. | ₩11,500 | ₩9,000–₩16,000 | 12 |
| 라면 Ramyeon | Instant noodles, served unashamedly in restaurants. Often the cheapest line on the menu. | ₩7,500 | ₩2,000–₩32,000 | 23 |
| 우동 Udon | Thick wheat noodles in broth. | ₩13,450 | ₩3,000–₩29,000 | 17 |
| 볶음밥 Bokkeumbap | Fried rice, usually ordered at the end of a grill meal and cooked in the same pan. | ₩9,000 | ₩2,000–₩25,000 | 32 |
| 공기밥 Gongibap | A bowl of plain rice. Not included by default; add it. | ₩1,000 | ₩1,000–₩18,000 | 8 |
| 소주 Soju | The green bottle. Around ₩5,000 a bottle in restaurants. | ₩5,000 | ₩4,000–₩14,000 | 13 |
| 막걸리 Makgeolli | Unfiltered rice wine, cloudy and lightly fizzy. The pancake's partner. | ₩6,000 | ₩4,000–₩19,000 | 6 |
| 맥주 Maekju | Beer. | ₩6,500 | ₩1,500–₩45,000 | 28 |
How to read it
- The median is the number to remember. If a menu is far above it, you are paying for the address — which is often fine, and is exactly what a positive Gap Score tends to be measuring.
- Big ranges mean a shared dish. Suyuk, jokbal, bossam and most grilled meats are priced by platter, not by person. A ₩40,000 line is usually feeding three.
- Rice is not included. Gongibap is a separate line on most Korean menus.
- Only families with five or more priced listings appear, so nothing here rests on a single menu. 60 of 64 families clear that bar in the current run.
The limits of this table
Family matching is by Korean stem, so a dish is counted once, in the most specific family that fits — 회냉면 is naengmyeon, not raw fish. It covers 1,716 of the 5,549 priced dishes in the index (31%); the rest are house specials, set menus and drinks with names that belong to no family. Prices are as listed at the August 2026 harvest run and lag the platforms by a few weeks.