Dakgalbi is chicken marinated in chili paste, stir-fried on a huge iron pan with cabbage, sweet potato and rice cakes. It is the signature dish of Chuncheon, a lakeside city northeast of Seoul, which even has a dakgalbi alley in its Myeong-dong district.
How to eat it
- Iron-pan dakgalbi — staff cook it on the hot plate in the middle of your table. Wait until they say it’s ready.
- Charcoal dakgalbi — marinated chicken grilled over charcoal, a little lighter.
- Fried rice — at the end, rice and seaweed flakes are fried in the leftover sauce. Don’t skip it.
Getting there
Chuncheon is an easy day trip from Seoul by the ITX-Cheongchun train or the Gyeongchun subway line. Many people combine it with Nami Island nearby.