🌶️ How Spicy Is Korean Food?

Less uniformly than its reputation suggests. A large part of the classic repertoire has no chilli in it at all.

Two different chillies

Korean heat comes mostly from gochugaru (dried chilli flakes) and gochujang (fermented chilli paste). Gochujang is sweet and thick, so dishes built on it — tteokbokki, bibimbap sauce — taste sweet before they taste hot. Gochugaru heat is sharper and more direct, and it is what makes stews and kimchi bite.

Dishes that are not spicy

Samgyeopsal and most grilled meat, bulgogi, galbi, japchae, samgyetang, kalguksu, gimbap, jjajangmyeon, tangsuyuk, mul-naengmyeon, sundubu in its white version, and almost all fried chicken except the yangnyeom kind. It is entirely possible to eat in Korea for a week without meeting chilli.

Dishes that are genuinely hot

Buldak (fire chicken), jjamppong, yukgaejang, agu-jjim, nakji-bokkeum, and any dish with 매운 or 불 in its name. Kimchi-jjigae and tteokbokki sit in the middle — hot but manageable for most people.

Asking for less heat

'An maepge haejuseyo' (안 맵게 해주세요) means 'please make it not spicy'. It works reliably for dishes assembled to order — tteokbokki, stews, stir-fries — and not at all for anything pre-made or fermented, like kimchi. Milk or a soft drink helps more than water, which spreads the heat around.

Common questions

Is kimchi always spicy?No. Baek-kimchi (white kimchi) is made without chilli, and dongchimi is a mild, clear radish-water kimchi. Both are common as side dishes.
What can children eat?Gimbap, japchae, bulgogi, mandu, tonkatsu, kalguksu and non-spicy tteokbokki are all standard choices, and most restaurants will bring plain rice on request.
Is Korean food spicier than Thai or Sichuan food?Generally no. The heat level is moderate by comparison; what stands out is how often chilli appears rather than how strong it is.
Dishes on this page's menus
tteokbokkikimchi jjigaenaengmyeonjapchaebulgogi
Worth reading before you go
🥓 How to Eat Korean BBQ🥢 Korean Table Manners🗣️ How to Order Without Speaking Korean🍢 Korean Street Food Guide🍶 Korean Drinking Culture🥬 Banchan: Korea's Free Side Dishes
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Read this in: 日本語