Korean cuisine Korean cuisine is the set of foods and culinary styles which are associated with Korean culture. This cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient Prehistoric Korea, agricultural and nomad ...

, ''bunsik'' () are inexpensive dishes available at ''bunsikjeom'' () or ''bunsikjip'' () snack restaurants. ''Bunsik'' literally means "food made from flour," referring to dishes such as ''

ramyeon is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

'' (; noodle soup) and

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

, but modern bunsik restaurants serve other dishes in large portions at low prices, such as ''

gimbap ''Gimbap'' (; ), also romanized as ''kimbap'', is a Korean cuisine, Korean dish made from Bap (rice dish), ''bap'' (cooked rice), vegetables, and optionally cooked seafood or meat, rolled in ''gim (food), gim''—dried sheets of seaweed—and s ...

'', ''

tteokbokki () or simmered rice cake, is a popular Korean food made from small-sized (long, white, cylinder-shaped rice cakes) called () or commonly (). * ''Eomuk'' (fish cakes), boiled eggs, and scallions are some common ingredients paired with ''tteo ...

'', ''rabokki'' (''tteokbokki'' with ''ramyeon''), ''

sundae A sundae (Sunday Ice) () is an ice cream frozen dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with a sweet sauce or syrup and other toppings such as sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, chocola ...

'', '' eomuk'', and '' twigim''. One ''bunsikjip'' chain is called "Gimbap Cheonguk".

History

During the 1960s,

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

was scarce in South Korea, and the government was prompted to promote ''bunsik'' as an alternative.Bunsik encouragement
at Britannica Korea Committees were set up in each region to encourage public organizations, schools, and government offices to lead the movement. Restaurants were guided to use more barley and wheat flour while sales of rice-based foods were banned on certain days of the week. Government run restaurants in official buildings were banned from selling rice dishes altogether. This effort lasted until 1976.

References

Korean words and phrases South Korean cuisine {{Korea-cuisine-stub