Korean Meal: Balance and Harmony

Image @ Flickr by Jessy Jess

  Korean meals, unlike western course meal, are served in a single setting. We call this Bansang Charim, where the rice (Bap) and side dishes (Banchan) are set together on the table.

  A Bansang can be very simple, consisting of rice, soup, soy sauce, kimchi, grilled fish, and a vegetable dish. But it can also be extravagant with so many dishes spread out on the table that the table legs figuratively 'bend'.

  Regardless of the scale, the key point is that the combination is balanced and harmonious in terms of taste and nutrition.