Korean Romanization

Prenote:  If you REALLY want to learn Korean (at least the basics), then check out my
Korean Lessons Page

In case you are not familiar with the Romanization of Korean,
here are the Korean vowels:

RE:  Korean consonants.

Consonants are pretty much the same (for all intents and purposes) as English, but the syllable containing double consonants is stressed.  Other than that, Korean is a non-tonal language.

Kinds of Gimchi / Kimchi

"Kimchi" is the old spelling, but it probably will remain forever, because it was added to the English language before the Korean government changed the Romanization of the Korean language around the year 2000.  The new spelling is "gimchi".  I shall use both spellings interchangeably here.

There are many kinds of kimchi.  The most popular, shown here, is cabbage kimchi, or baechu gimchi in Korean.  It is made with so-called "Chinese cabbage" which is different from any cabbage we have in the West.  It tastes better, too.  (Of course, that is just my opinion).

Chong-gak Kimchi is made from long, white radishes.  I'd estimate that they are about an inch in diameter and about 3 or 4 inches long.  The spices used and the process to make it is, I believe, the same as with cabbage kimchi.  The texture of the radishes is hard.  They have that stringent raddishy taste, much like the red raddishes we are used to in the West.  External Pic(ture)

GGak-du-gi is made from huge white turnips.  The spices and process used to make it is the same as cabbage kimchi, I believe.  I personally like the texture (softer) and taste (less raddishy) better than the Chong-gak kimchi.  It would seem that many Koreans agree with me, because I don't see it much in restaurants these days.  {Another name for this kimchi could possibly be Mu Kimchi, because the turnip is called Mu in Korean.}  External Pic(ture)

Baek (white) Kimchi is a cabbage kimchi, but without the red hot chili powder/sauce (whatever they use).  It is very similar to sour kraut.  External Pic(ture)

There are other kinds as well:  pa (green onion) kimchi, hobak nip (pumpkin leaf) kimchi, sang-chu (lettuce) kimchi, gge nip (sesame leaf) kimchi, doraji (balloon flower root) kimchi, and others, for which the names I do not know.

Dishes

Fruit (all botanical fruits; the seed-bearing part of various plants)

Nuts (botanically nuts 견과 are kinds of fruits 열매)

Vegetables

Herbs

Miscellaneous Comestibles

Drinks (Key Words:  Korean soft drinks, Korean liquor, Korean alcohol)

Appendix:

Bilingual Dictionary Errors regarding Korean Food

BEWARE:

The Korean-English / English-Korean bilingual dictionaries are often wrong about the translations of some foods.  Here are a few of the corrections:

For more bilingual dictionary errors, click here 

Addendum to the table above:

Korean Food Culture

bap (밥) = steamed rice (but metonymously also means "meal").

     [CULTURE:  When a Korean asks (in his/her mother tongue), "Have you eaten steamed rice today?", it means: "Have you eaten a meal today?";  and it is more a formality than an actual question.  If you say, "No,"  The Koreans are often left wondering what to say, and usually end up saying, "Well, you'd better eat."  Some Koreans might feel obligated to feed you, if you say, "No."  So, if you don't want to put a Korean through the trouble of feeding you, it is best to say, "Yes."]

yeot (엿) = pumpkin nougat

     [CULTURE:  Superstition indicates that if eaten right before taking a test, the eater will score well on the test.  So, right around final exam time, one can see lots of yeot venders on the street.]

ja jang myeong (자장면) = From the Chinese:  Ja Jiang Mian,

          which means:  "[?] + sauce + noodles"

After living in China for a year, it has come to my attention that EVERY restaurant in China serves Ja Jiang Mian.  AND, although I asked several Chinese people, nobody seemed to be able to tell me what Ja means.  One guy told me that it meant nothing, and I thought that he meant that it meant "nothing", but I now realize that what he meant to say was that he didn't know what it meant, but was too proud to admit it.  Every Chinese character has some meaning, even if that meaning changes by conjugating with another Chinese character.  Another person told me that Ja Jiang is just the name of a type of sauce (Jiang meaning sauce).  Mian means noodles.

The Korean version of Ja Jang Myeong is much sweeter than the Chinese version (which is quite bitter);  AND, therefore, the Korean version is much more suited to my tastes, although the Chinese version is not all that bad.

nok cha (녹차) = [literally] green tea (made from the same leaves as black tea, but the leaves are dried immediately, retaining their green coloring)  [Koreans are very proud of this tea, which to my knowledge, is a Korean original & is very popular in Korea.  They are especially proud of it for its cancer-preventative qualities]

hong cha (홍차) = [literally] red tea (in English => black tea) (the leaves are first fermented in water then dried, hence the red color)

　Korean Cook Books