Cooking Classes In Seoul: From Kimchi to Bulgogi
Whether you want to learn how to make kimchi or if you want to learn how to make bibimbap, there’s a cooking class in Seoul for you. Cooking classes are a fantastic way to learn more about a culture and with a local guide, you can ask some of those questions about Korean dining etiquette and dining in Korea that you’ve wondered about.
I’ve taken a number of Korean cooking classes over the years because, well food, but also, the opportunity to learn how to make some of my favorite Korean food is awesome. I’ve learned how to make a lot of dishes from my Korean mother-in-law, but if you’ve ever cooked with an older woman in Korea, you’d know they don’t really use exact measurements. It’s a lot of showing you the size of their hands to guesstimate, which is awkward because I’m sure my hand is larger than hers. Anyway, I love learning from her, but it’s nice to splice in an actual class with a cook or chef that can tell me some measurements just in case.
Get ready to learn how to make Korean food in these cooking classes:
- Kimchi Cooking Classes in Seoul
- Bibimbap Cooking Classes in Seoul
- Samgyetang Cooking Classes in Seoul
- Tteokbokki, Mandu, and More Cooking Classes in Seoul
- Bulgogi Cooking Classes in Seoul
- North Korean Style Cooking Classes in Seoul
While I haven’t yet taken all of these classes personally, these are the ones I would take or the ones I’ve had tourists tell me they took and loved.
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Kimchi Cooking Classes in Seoul
Kimchi is the quintessential Korean dish to learn if you’re only going to take one class. While it may not be a main dish, the kimchi on the table can make or break a Korean meal. Get ready to learn how to make this iconic Korean side dish.
Korean Kimchi Class at Seoul Kimchi Academy
Highlights
- Great introductory kimchi class
- Held in a cooking studio in Bukchon Hanok Village
- Family-friendly
If you’re looking for an introductory course in making kimchi, this is the class to join. Kimchi is quite the personal dish for many families and I’ve learned how to make kimchi with my husband from his mother but I was asked recently to recommend a place for someone to learn and I recommended the Seoul Kimchi Academy. They have fantastic reviews and my friend said the class was exactly what they were looking for and was kid-friendly too.
- Book this experience on Klook
Korean Kimchi Making Experience
Highlights
- Learn how to make FOUR different kinds of kimchi
- Take home a cookbook to remember the recipes
- Held in a cooking studio in the Mangwon area (near Hongdae)
Start your tour in Mangwon Market, what used to be my local traditional market in Seoul to pick out fresh ingredients. Next, head to a private cooking studio to learn how to make kimchi with a professional chef. Learn how to make four types of kimchi including two cabbage kimchis (배추김치), a raddish kimchi (깍두기김치), and a cucumber kimchi (오이소박) with a small group of students, four people maximum.
Whether you’re a tourist or a local looking to impress some Korean in-laws, this is a great opportunity to learn how to make the iconic Korean side dishes.
- Book this experience on Viator
Bibimbap Cooking Classes in Seoul
Bibimbap is likely the meal you had on the airplane in to Korea… if you ordered the Korean option. This rice and vegetable dish is a quintessential meal in Korea and it is delicious. While it may look simple from the outset, and can be once you get all the fixings prepared, there are a lot of fixings to prepare. Learn how to make this must-eat Korean staple.
Korean Bibimbap and Pancakes Experience
Highlights
- Small-group cooking class
- Family-friendly
Visit Mangwon traditional market with a local chef and pick up fresh ingredients, taste street food, and then get hands-on and make a four popular Korean dishes including bibimbap and sanjeok pancakes and then sit down to a Hanjeongsik meal, or a splendid array of Korean side dishes, rice, and the delicious food you put together.
Samgyetang Cooking Classes in Seoul
Samgyetang is Korean chicken stew that is a meal often promoted in the summer, but can be enjoyed year-round. Samgyetang is made of a whole young chicken stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, jujube, garlic, and ginger. It is considered a healthy Korean soup with many medicinal benefits.
Korean Chicken Soup Cooking Experience
Highlights
- Small-group class with a maximum of four people
- Wheelchair accessible
Korean chicken soup, or samgyetang, is a revitalizing Korean soup often eaten in the summers when it’s hot for energy, but of course, it can be eaten all year-round.
When my husband was sick the first time, I made him chicken noodle soup and it did not have the reaction I expected. While he ate it, he was confused about why there were extra vegetables and noodles. I realized he was comparing my soup to samgyetang. Now, when I make chicken soup, I do a more collaborative recipe so it’s to his samgyetang tastes and to my chicken soup tastes. This is a great recipe to know.
- Book this experience on Viator
Tteokbokki, Mandu, and More Cooking Classes in Seoul
Korean Japchae, Tteokbokki, Mandu, and Fishcake Soup
Highlights
- Learn FOUR great Korean dishes
- Small-group class with a maximum of 6 people
Learn how to make four common Korean foods including mandu, or steamed dumplings, japchae, or a glass noodle stir fry, fishcake soup, a hot and spicy Korean soup, and tteokbokki, a spicy rice cake dish.
Bulgogi Cooking Classes in Seoul
Bulgogi, ‘bul’ meaning fire and ‘gogi’ meaning meat, is a dish with thin slices of beef cooked over a fire. In this case ‘bul’ is literal fire and doesn’t mean spicy. This is a dish that children often love because it’s actually a little sweet along with the savory.
Korean Bulgogi and Japchae Cooking Class
Highlights
- Uses Halal beef
- In a professional cooking studio
Bulgogi is another recipe I’ve learned in two different classes. No, it doesn’t necessarily require two classes, but I happened to be in a tourism group that invited us to try it. It is one of my favorite Korean dishes though. This class with NOW COOKING is in a professional cooking studio and does a great job of introducing Korean food with some cultural background.
North Korean Style Cooking Classes in Seoul
North Korean Style Meal and North Korean Defector Discussion
Highlights
- Only available on Mondays.
- Very Vegetarian-friendly
A unique opportunity in Seoul, join a private cooking class with a North Korean defector who shares personal stories about life in North Korea and the country’s unique culinary customs. North Korean food is quite different from South Korean food and very vegetarian friendly. Learn how to make tofu-rice, soy-bean meat and potato noodles.
- Book this experience on Viator
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