Opening remarks

Chapter 01 A warm meal

Gukbap: Quick to prepare and slow to eat, Korea's first fast food
Pot Rice - A spoonful of kimchi, another spoonful wrapped in seaweed, the power of freshly cooked rice
Crab - Come try it! The temptation of a fat rice thief
Rice Bowl_Matsutake mushrooms, eel, fried food, japchae, octopus... Rice covered with a light layer of dishes, a complete meal.
Fried Rice_A delicious meal no matter what you put in it and stir-fry it.
Egg_egg money! You guys were a nutritious meal!
Sundae: A hearty meal for the common people, derived from the Mongolian cavalry's combat rations.
Bulgogi - A sweet yet mild dish that once completely captivated me.
Chicken Gomtang - A hearty soup with lean meat that warms the soul and warms the body and mind.
Cabbage_Cabbage, the king of the table, was once a medicinal herb.

Chapter 02 Seasonal delicacies

Dodari Mugwort Soup_Taste the richest spring day with mugwort filled with dodari.
Spring greens_stir-fried, blanched, and pickled, the ultimate in culinary delights
Clams - Refreshing broth and chewy flesh, the taste of spring embraced by the sea
Barley_Enjoy your early summer appetite with chewy, chewy barley grains!
Makguksu_Make it quickly and 'mak' it? It's made quickly and 'mak' it!
Freshwater fish_savory doribangbangi, spicy fish stew, rich fish porridge, wow~ it's a tonic!
Shrimp: The King of Cholesterol? Shrimp is blazing with indignation.
Chueotang_Sometimes whole, sometimes ground, a hot bowl full of energy
Mushrooms_'Ilneungi Ipyogo Samsongi' is said to be the best in taste, nutrition, and texture.
Oysters_Eat them raw, steam them, boil them, they taste delicious
Cold Noodles - A bowl of 'I-Naeng-Chi-Naeng' with a rich broth and chewy noodles will refresh your stomach.
Daegu_Daegu's "Fish Life Journey," a wintertime seasonal dish, has found a new world thanks to you.

Chapter 03 A dish that calls for a drink

Gopchang - Rich tripe, chewy intestines, the more you chew, the more strength you gain.
Lamb_Beyond lamb skewers, Genghis Khan and hot pot are all at the peak of popularity~
Blowfish_A taste worth exchanging even for death, be blessed.
Special cuts of beef - there's nothing you can't eat except the skin.
Ribs_Tear it apart, all the way to the bone! Chew it, the juices dripping down!
Jeon_Pajeon, Baechujeon, Yukjeon, it tastes best when 'jjim' while it's hot
Squid_soup, side dish, snack, call it 'the all-rounder of flavor'
Pig's feet_The harmony of chewy skin and lean meat.
The 'best taste' in the night snack world
Yukhoe_Baseball is best enjoyed from the 6th inning, and meat is best enjoyed from the 6th inning.

Chapter 04: Snacks that are not inferior to formal meals

Tteokbokki: A spicy snack that warms both body and soul, and a soul food for everyone.
Odeng_Chewy fish meat, hot broth, blow a mouthful, cold go away
Dumplings_Full of nutrition and easy to eat, they are the dumplings loved by people all over the world.
Ramen: A pack of ramen that once satisfied hunger, now a familiar taste that's hard to resist.
Noodles_Pure white noodles, refreshing broth, slurp with love
Donkatsu_A national dish that has conquered both pubs and restaurants, with a crispy exterior and a soft interior.
Hamburger_The King of Fast Food, Pick One and Eat It Burger~Wow

A delicious food epic for hungry souls searching for a warm meal!
'Lee Woo-seok's Foodology', currently being serialized in the Munhwa Ilbo, is on full display!
Introducing 230 verified restaurants and carefully selected stories of food and ingredients, organized into four themes!

Lee Woo-seok, the director of the Nolgomeokgi Research Institute, is a well-known figure in the travel and food industry.
While working as a travel reporter for Sports Seoul for over 20 years, I traveled all over the country to try out all the delicious restaurants.
I didn't just browse through the local restaurants.
After finishing the article, I wandered the streets of Seoul, including Jongno, Euljiro, Hongdae, and Hapjeong, until late at night, visiting all the restaurants I could find.
No one told me to do that.
It's because of his nature of being serious about eating.
It is perhaps natural that he has held such prestigious positions as an honorary ambassador for the Korea Pork Promotion Association, a member of the Korea Tourism Organization's "Places to Visit of the Month" selection committee, and an advisory member of the Jeollanam-do Tourism Foundation.
His witty and sharp wit that captivates the audience wherever he is has made him the number one choice for guests on food and travel, both on TV and radio.


Director Lee Woo-seok's recently published book, "How Was Your Meal Today?" is a story of his twenty-year struggle in search of "taste."
This book introduces 230 restaurants that have been verified by the author through the food and ingredients that have satisfied the hunger of Koreans for a long time.
The food stories and restaurants introduced in the book were previously censored(?) and received much love from readers when serialized in the Munhwa Ilbo as “Lee Woo-seok’s Foodology.”
The author's humor overflows in every sentence, and the familiar food and ingredients are mixed with truly delicious stories we didn't know about, making us want to try that food at least once.
How about these 230 restaurants he's personally vetted and verified? These are the absolute must-visit spots for true gourmets.
Now, let's get started with "How was your meal today?"
Today, a new world of flavors will open up for hungry souls searching for a delicious meal.

We all know the food and ingredients, but when you look inside, you'll find surprising flavors and stories!

Food is not only a meal, but also a treasure trove of stories.
In "How Was Your Meal Today?", Director Lee Woo-seok skillfully unravels interesting stories about food that we might not have known about.
The fact that sundae originated from the combat rations of Mongolian cavalry that conquered the world; that Spanish fishermen chasing cod discovered Newfoundland; that cabbage, the most common on the table, was once a medicinal herb; that makguksu is called makguksu not because it is made in a hurry but because it is made in the present; that it is no longer necessary to insist on the term fish cake but should be called oden; that the gonggitbap in “add one more gonggitbap” was made by law in the 1960s when snacks were encouraged due to a rice shortage. These are the little stories that permeate the food and make the “delicious stories” even more delicious.
After knowing these stories and backgrounds behind food, eating it tastes even better.


Koreans' favorite foods, ingredients, and restaurants, all wrapped up in four themes!

"How was your meal today?" introduces foods and ingredients loved by Koreans, divided into four themes: "A warm meal," "Seasonal delicacies," "A dish that goes well with a drink," and "Snacks that rival a full meal."
'A warm meal of rice' is a meal that mainly consists of rice, which can be considered the soul food of Koreans.
When you think of a warm meal, you can easily think of soup, crab set meal with a proper table setting, and rice bowls and fried rice that are popular as easy lunches.
'Seasonal Delicacies' introduced seasonal foods for each season.
In fact, most foods have a season.
This book, among others, introduces foods and ingredients that are particularly seasonal.
For example, dodari mugwort soup and spring vegetables in spring, makguksu and freshwater spicy fish stew in summer, shrimp and chueotang in fall, and oysters and cod in winter.


‘A dish that goes well with a glass of alcohol’ is a ‘proper’ side dish to eat with alcohol.
Gopchang, along with samgyeopsal, is one of the most beloved side dishes among Koreans.
Lamb, which started out as a grilled lamb skewer, is rapidly emerging as a delicious side dish, and pancakes such as green onion pancakes and cabbage pancakes are long-time friends of makgeolli.
In addition, we introduced dishes that go well with alcohol, such as pufferfish, ribs, squid, pig's feet, and raw beef.
‘Snacks that are not inferior to regular meals’ is a category of snacks that can be enjoyed lightly.
We also introduced the national snacks tteokbokki and oden, ramen and noodles that were once snacks that satisfied hunger but are now considered dishes, and donkatsu and hamburgers that were introduced from the West but have grown into national dishes.


A thorough guide to 230 real-world restaurants you should take note of and try right away.

"How was your meal today?" tells the story of food and ingredients, and also introduces 230 restaurants where you can taste them.
The restaurants introduced in this book are places that CEO Lee Woo-seok has personally tasted and verified over the past twenty years.
These are restaurants that the author, who goes on a pilgrimage to delicious restaurants 360 days out of the year, has visited at least several times.
In particular, the author visits Seoul's famous restaurants in Jongno, Euljiro, and Mapo three or four times a month.
You can trust that these are houses found through the author's thorough experience.
However, it would be difficult to view it as a restaurant based on the author's subjective evaluation.
As you can see if you search, most of the restaurants introduced in this book are so well-known that waiting is the norm.
If you carry the list of restaurants introduced in this book with you, you can enjoy a delicious meal without fail anytime, anywhere.