Specialities, region by region

Beef-bone soup was born in Seoul. The century-old houses in the centre still serve it unchanged.

Cold noodles in an almost neutral broth, brought by refugees from the North. A taste that baffles at the first mouthful and haunts you afterwards.

Invented in Incheon's Chinese quarter in the early twentieth century.

Oversized beef ribs, marinated in salt rather than soy. The city also has its fried-chicken street, where birds are cooked the old way in big cauldrons.

Chilli stir-fried chicken comes from this city of lakes, an hour from Seoul, where an entire street is dedicated to it. Cold buckwheat makguksu noodles go alongside.

In Gangneung, a tofu set with seawater, silky and barely salty. A whole village of restaurants lives off it.

The city is Korea's coffee capital, with its street of roasters facing Anmok beach.

Caramelised fried chicken, sold by the box at the central market and eaten cold on the beach.

Squid sundae, a legacy of the North Korean refugees of Abai village in Sokcho.

Raw fish in an icy, spicy, vinegared broth. The summer dish of the whole coast.

Chicken braised in soy with glass noodles, potatoes and dried chilli. A whole alley of Andong market does nothing else.

Andong is far from the sea: fish was salted for the journey, and the method became a speciality.

A soju distilled the old way, at 45 per cent, nothing like the green bottles in the shops.

In Gyeongju, a small round bun filled with red-bean paste, sold warm since 1939.

Also in Gyeongju: an assortment of leaves for wrapping rice, meat and condiments, with a table covered in small dishes.

Charcoal-grilled offal, much loved with soju. Daegu is also known for its fiery braised ribs and its flat dumplings.

Pork-and-rice soup, Busan's emblem. You season it yourself with chives, shrimp paste and chilli.

Cold wheat noodles invented by war refugees when buckwheat ran short.

Busan's hotteok, split open and filled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

The local fish cake is reckoned the best in the country; workshop-shops sell dozens of varieties.

At Jagalchi Market or facing Gwangalli beach.

The reference version: rice cooked in beef broth, tartare, bean sprouts, some thirty ingredients.

Jeonju's bean-sprout soup, served scalding with an egg on the side. The city's breakfast.

In Jeonju you order a kettle of makgeolli and the table fills with dishes. Each further kettle brings new ones.

Patties of minced beef rib, grilled and glazed. A street is devoted to them near Songjeong station.

The full traditional meal, where the table vanishes under twenty or thirty dishes. The south-west is held to be the best region in the country for food.

The local breed, firmer and tastier, grilled in thick slices. A street in Jeju City bears its name.

Noodles in pork broth, topped with slices of meat. The island's feast-day dish turned everyday fare.

Abalone porridge, seafood hotpot, whatever the haenyeo divers brought up that morning.

Dried then grilled, delicate and slightly sweet.

Jeju mandarins and hallabong, recognisable by its bump, from November to March. As juice, chocolate or cake the rest of the year.