My Daily Bread—I Mean, Rice

No theological reflections here—just pure food.

"So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun."

—Ecclesiastes 8:15 NRSVUE

Okay, no theological reflections starting now.

Everything is delicious here, but my favorite dishes are in bold.

비빔밥 Bibimbap on the flight to Korea—off to a delicious start!

First meal in Korea! 고등어조림 Mackerel stew

Every day is a feast in Korea!

잔치국수 and 김밥 (banquet noodles and gimbap); 오징어튀김 (fried squid); 갈비탕 galbitang (beef rib soup); 해물솥밥 (seafood rice pot); 칼국수 kalgugsu; K-BBQ; 콩국수 (cold bean noodle soup); 게장 (marinated raw crab); 세꼬시 (bone-in sliced raw fish) w/알탕 (spicy fish roe soup) and 미역국 (seaweed soup)

고등어 구이 and 순두부찌개 with my fellow Underground Seminary graduate Pastor Chiwon Kim, who launched his new church 희년다문화교회 Jubilee Multicultural Church in Seoul this year.

"In an age where people are exhausted by endless competition for survival, the fragmentation of community, and the prevalence of isolation in Korea, we are a church that does not run away from reality but, in the midst of it, cultivates a beloved community that actively recovers from the wounds and trauma of the age, grows to fearlessly love and care for one another, and passionately pursues true life in the powerful love of God here and now by following the straight and narrow way of Jesus Christ who proclaimed Jubilee."

—Pastor Chiwon Kim 김치원 목사님

Chicken and rosé 쫄볶이 jjolbokki (chewy noodles and rice cake) 💯; 비빔밥 bibimbap (on land); 갈치구이 (roast cutlass fish) and more 고등어조림 (marinated mackerel); garlic oil pasta; dim sum; 육전 (fried beef); 들깨순두부찌개 (perilla seed soft tofu soup) LOVED!; perilla leaf pasta (this is a fusion dish I wouldn't try again); Chuseok dinner made by my supervisor Pastor Hyeyoung!

On a street in Anam-dong, Seoul 🌶️

Food is the love language of Korean people and boy, can I feel the love 🥰

Dessert time!

1.) Popular in Korea these days is Dubai chocolate: rich chocolate filled with crispy noodles and pistachio and tahini paste. Quite good!

2.) Taiwanese mooncake dànhuángsū with red bean egg yolk filling for Chuseok

3.) 송편 Korean mooncakes, Korean pear, and crazy popular shine muscat Japanese grapes (meh)

4.) Fancy drinks, including fancified 식혜 (sweet rice drink) in 익선동 Ikseon-dong, a hot neighborhood

5.) 떡! Rice cake

6.) Baskin-Robbins Salted Milk Ice Cream—so good! 😋

7.) Traditional 인절미팥빙수 injeolmipatbingsu plus ice cream 🤤

8.) 탕후루 sugar-glazed fruit that was all the rage last summer (meh)

9.) 소금빵 (Japanese sea salt butter roll) that is all the rage right now 👌

Trying 찜닭 jjimdak (Korean braised chicken) with my aunt and uncle—this is one of my favorite dishes now!

짬뽕 jjamppong (spicy seafood soup); Indian food; 감자탕 (pork backbone stew); steak rice pot; 라멘 ramen (which I learned must be distinguished from instant 라면 ramyeon); home-cooked galbijjim and jeon at my aunt and uncle's house; 짜장면 jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce); 찰순대, 떡볶이, 통감자 (sliced blood sausage, spicy rice cake, and potatoes) at a rest stop; 우동 udon at a rest stop

마라탕 malatang, a spicy, choose-your-own ingredients, noodle soup is also insanely popular right now; Chuseok grill-out at Sungam Church; 전남 돌판짜장 stone-dish black bean noodles with squid in Jeollanam-do 😍😍😍; 쭈꾸미 stir-fried spicy baby octopus

Not pictured: 누룽지통닭 (roasted chicken w/scorched rice), 순댓국 (blood sausage soup), and many other delicious meals

Suffice to say that I am in food heaven here and that my daily bread has been nothing short of extravagant 😇