CITY & ITS PEOPLE
LA × Seoul: the same Korean flavors, K-town vs. Seoul
Nine meals in Seoul set against everyday LA: beef-bone soup, cold noodles, knife-cut noodles, chicken soup, barbecue and matcha, K-town and Seoul side by side. The check comes first, then each city's dining rules, and finally J's split: hangouts in LA, clear hot soup in Seoul.
Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.
Key points
- Both are beef-bone soup: LA's Han Bat is milky seolleongtang; Seoul's 李璵 and 韓村 are clear, golden gomtang
- The check first: the same knife-cut noodles run about US$19–26 in LA, ₩13,000 at Hwangsaengga in Seoul
- J's personal split: hangouts in LA, clear hot soup in Seoul
Full text
Same Korean flavors: what's the difference?
LA's K-town is familiar Korean flavor mixed into everyday, multicultural LA; Seoul is Neungdong's minari beef soup, piled with minari and full of clean beefy flavor. 9 Seoul meals × everyday LA.
Seoul still surprises
LA's Korean soup spots are the most familiar everyday thing; Seoul's beef bone soup is simple and clean, and still a lovely surprise. LA is everyday; Seoul is the trip.
The check first
Same knife-cut noodles: how far apart are the prices? On a K-town receipt, a bowl of kalguksu is $19, plus 10.25% tax ($1.95), so $20.95, roughly in the US$19–26 range; at Hwangsaengga in Seoul, the knife-cut noodles are ₩13,000, with giant white dumplings on the side.
Beef-bone soup, two styles
LA: in Koreatown, where the Korean community gathered, soup-and-rice spots like Han Bat specialize in rich, milky-white seolleongtang, mellow and hearty, an LA K-town classic. Seoul: soup-and-rice spots like Iyu and Hanchon (이우・한촌) mostly serve clear, golden beef bone soup (gomtang), all about a clean, pure, delicate beef flavor, Seoul's traditional style.
Can K-town match this bowl?
Seoul's Neungdong Minari: a bowl absolutely full of minari (water dropwort). LA: still looking for one like it.
Cold noodles: bold vs. delicate
Yu Chun's naengmyeon in LA is known for being bold and spicy: deep sauce, real heat, punchy flavor. Bongpiyang's Pyongyang naengmyeon in Seoul has a clear yet deep broth with a subtle buckwheat aroma, and there's also bibim naengmyeon (비빔냉면), gently spicy so the noodles shine.
One bowl of kalguksu, two cities
LA-style is clam knife-cut noodles with Korean dumplings: Hangari, MDK. Seoul is Hwangsaengga's handmade knife-cut noodles with giant dumplings.
Soft tofu stew vs. temple food
LA's soft tofu stew (순두부찌개) in Koreatown is bubbling hot, spicy and fragrant: BCD, Surawon. Seoul's temple vegetarian cuisine is built on seasonal vegetables, mushrooms and beans, light but layered: Cheongdam Balwoo.
Chicken soup, two ways
LA has Korean ginseng chicken soup, with mellow ginseng, tender chicken and a rich broth: Jun Won Dak. Seoul has Dongdaemun's whole chicken (닭한마리); you have to try the chicken dipped in the vinegar sauce, bright and appetizing.
Waiting in line: a patience test in both cities
In LA, people mostly join the line on Yelp: check in online, show up, and wait for a text calling your number. In Seoul's Seongsu, fruit mochi is super popular, usually reserved on Catch Table or lined up for in person; next door there's a pot of potato pork bone stew (감자탕).
Still craving hot soup at midnight?
LA's late-night canteen is a bowl of hot soup in K-town: Sun Nong Dan. Seoul's early morning is a steaming bowl of beef bone soup in an old market: Iyu, Seongsu soup spots.
Save the barbecue for K-town?
LA's Korean BBQ is upscale and polished, with jaw-dropping beef grades, stylish, the go-to for group dinners: Park's, Baekjeong. Seoul's Mongtan grills pork ribs over a straw fire, charcoal smoke mixed with straw smoke, an old Seoul flavor: Mongtan, Geumdwaeji.
Matcha in both cities
LA's artisan matcha: Kettl. Seoul's Bukchon: OSULLOC's matcha drinks and Korz's matcha lava desserts.
Old-timers: two histories of Korean food
LA has the charcoal BBQ institutions the Korean community built: Soot Bull Jeep, BCD. Seoul has century-old seolleongtang landmarks that have witnessed the everyday history of Korean food: Imun, Hadongkwan.
Where do dessert trends come from?
In LA, the popular treat at Korean bakeries is the salt bread; in Seoul, the big thing is fruit mochi daifuku, plus butter rice cakes, chewy outside, soft inside and rich with butter.
A burrito exchange diary
LA Koreatown's popular burritos are stuffed with Korean marinated beef (galbi), spicy kimchi, rice and lettuce, rolled up huge. In Seoul, people actually eat American burrito bowls (Chipotle-style), build-your-own, with a milk tea on the side.
The dining rules really are different
LA: tax is added to the bill, you usually tip (about 15–22%), and a lot of Korean restaurants have valet parking. Seoul: people mostly use Naver Map (네이버 지도) to find restaurants, menu prices include tax, the total is just the food, and there's usually no tipping.
J's split: hangouts in LA, clear soup in Seoul
For group dinners, LA: Korean BBQ is the best for a crowd, lively, abundant, everyone digging in. Light hot soups, Seoul: clear beef soup warms you up without weighing you down, cold buckwheat noodles are refreshing and springy, and a matcha after is just right.
One side everyday, the other homesick
LA's Koreatown is everyday life carried on, and the warmth of a new home; a little corner shop in Seoul is the comfort of a hot bowl of soup, the familiar, unchanging everyday of Seoul. Two cities, both tasting like home.
Save this two-city Korean food map
LA's Korean food universe is right in K-town; Seoul's soups and matcha are worth the trip. The Seoul list is at seoultrip.jslalaland.com. Comment A for matcha, B for late-night eats.
Places in this story
- Han Bat Sul Lung Tang
- Hangari Kalguksu
- BCD Tofu House
- Surawon Tofu House
- Sun Nong Dan
- Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong
- Soot Bull Jeep
- Kettl Hollywood
In this series
- Same little thing, two lives | Taipei vs. LA, up close
- Taipei vs. LA
- A day in Taipei × a day in LA
- Taipei Girl vs. LA Girl
- Moving from Taiwan
- LA vs. OC
- NorCal vs. SoCal
- LA vs. NYC
An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).