I Showed My Friend How Much Food 7,000 Won Gets You in Korea

Lunch is always a little hard to figure out.

What should I eat today?

And when money is a little tight that month, there's another question: what can I eat without spending too much?

There's one kind of place in Korea that solves both problems pretty easily.

A hansik buffet — basically a Korean-style cafeteria where you serve yourself.

There are quite a few of them around Korea. You get rice, soup, and a bunch of different side dishes, and you just take whatever you want on your tray. Most places are around 7,000 to 8,000 won.

For me, that's a pretty good deal.

There's just one problem when I go to one hungry.

There's too much food.

I tell myself I'm only going to take a little, and somehow my tray ends up completely full. I always end up eating way more than I planned.

Most of these places open around 10:30 in the morning, too. If you show up a little later, office workers start pouring in and you can end up waiting in line.

Personally, I like going right when the food comes out. There's something about being the first person to scoop everything onto your tray while it's still fresh.

That's when I thought of Timmy.

I wanted to show him a really normal Korean lunch

Timmy was visiting Korea, and I wanted to take him somewhere good to eat.

Korean food gives you way too many options, honestly. Samgyeopsal, fried chicken, bibimbap, naengmyeon — there's a lot to choose from.

But this time, I wanted to do something a little different.

Instead of taking him to some famous restaurant that tourists specifically go looking for, I wanted to show him the kind of place Koreans actually go for lunch. A regular local hansik buffet.

The side dishes change a little every day. There's soup, rice, and all kinds of things to choose from. You just grab a tray and take whatever looks good. And if you're still hungry, you can go back for more.

All for around 7,000 to 8,000 won.

I figured Timmy would have fun with that.

The second he smelled the food, his whole face changed

We got to the restaurant a little after 10 in the morning. It was still a bit early, so they hadn't opened yet. Timmy and I were standing outside waiting when he started looking around.

Then he said:

"Wow. The food smells amazing. When do they open?"

I laughed.

"A little later. We just have to wait."

I guess the owner thought it was a little funny that we were standing outside waiting, because she saw us and opened the restaurant early. We said hello, paid, and grabbed a tray each.

I explained it to Timmy.

"Just put whatever you want on the tray. As much as you want."

His eyes changed again. He grabbed his tray and immediately headed for the food.

This guy knows how to eat.

I followed behind him, watching what he was putting on his tray.

One side dish.

Then another.

Some soup.

Then rice.

At first, he seemed pretty reasonable about it. Then his tray slowly started getting heavier.

I remember thinking: isn't that enough already?

I did have one small concern. Would Timmy actually like the food? A lot of hansik buffet dishes are seasoned for Korean tastes, and there were plenty of side dishes he probably hadn't tried before.

Turns out, that was a completely pointless worry. Timmy ate really well. He liked everything so much that I couldn't help laughing while I watched him eat.

By the time we were almost finished, people had started coming into the restaurant. The quiet place we'd walked into was suddenly getting busy. Office workers were coming in, grabbing their trays, and lining up for lunch.

I looked around and said:

"See? This place gets really busy around lunchtime."

Timmy didn't answer. He was looking at his empty tray. He had that look on his face.

I knew exactly what he was thinking. He wasn't full yet.

Then I told him he could go back for more

Timmy looked at me with his empty tray.

"That's it?"

I laughed.

"No. If you want more, just go back."

He looked at me for a second.

"Again?"

"Yeah. You can eat more. It's free."

His expression changed immediately.

"Wait. Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Before I could even finish saying it, he grabbed his tray and headed back toward the food.

I watched him go and started laughing. He looked even faster this time.

That's when I realized I hadn't really wanted to show Timmy some fancy Korean food. For Koreans, this was just a normal lunch. Office workers line up, eat, and go back to work.

But for Timmy, this ordinary lunch seemed to be pretty memorable. He got to choose his own side dishes, try things he'd never had before, and go back for more if he was still hungry. And the whole thing cost around 7,000 to 8,000 won.

For me, it was just the kind of place that solves the daily "What am I going to eat today?" problem. For Timmy, it turned into a pretty fun Korean experience.

I finished my own lunch slowly and waited for him. A little while later, Timmy came back. His tray was full again.

I looked at him and laughed.

"You know, I think you like this place."

He didn't answer. He just started eating.

Honestly, I didn't really need an answer.

The most ordinary Korean lunch I'd wanted to show Timmy ended up being a lunch he had to eat twice.