Watch enough K-drama and certain foods start to feel like recurring characters. Here are ten dishes you’ll recognize on sight, even before anyone says the name out loud.

Comfort Foods You’ve Seen On Screen

Kimchi (김치) appears at literally every meal, fermented and central to Korean identity in a way no single English dish quite compares to. Bulgogi (불고기) and bibimbap (비빔밥) round out the trio of dishes most likely to appear in a family dinner scene. And when a scene needs a late-night comfort beat, a steaming pot of ramyeon (라면) is almost always what’s boiling on the table.

Spicy Classics

Tteokbokki (떡볶이) — chewy rice cakes in fiery gochujang sauce — is the street food snack shared by best friends on a bench. Speaking of gochujang (고추장), the red chili paste behind it, it shows up in half the sauces that give Korean food its signature kick.

Drinking Culture

No emotional dinner scene is complete without a green bottle of soju (소주), poured for a friend after heartbreak or a hard day at work. Older, less filtered makgeolli (막걸리) shows up in more rustic, countryside settings — often shared under a covered outdoor tent in the rain.

Grilled and Shared Meals

No group scene is complete without a tabletop grill: galbi (갈비), marinated short ribs, is the dish of choice for celebrations and reunions alike, while Korean BBQ (한국식 바비큐) more broadly is the format — meat grilled tableside and wrapped in lettuce — behind half the group dinner scenes in any drama.

Where to Try Them Yourself

None of these dishes require a trip to Korea to try — most major cities now have restaurants serving at least a few of them. But recognizing the name on screen, rather than just the dish, is what turns a passive watch into an active one.