5 (Non-Academic) Lessons I Learned in a South Korean Meat Market

“My biggest regret in college was not studying abroad”

I heard countless adults tell me those 9 words before I started college. When I asked other working adults what their favorite parts of college were, they’d often say spending time with friends, parties, and studying abroad. Oh, you absolutely must study abroad they’d say.

After spending 4 months studying abroad in South Korea, I can attest that it is a transformative, life-altering experience. Studying abroad is a unique opportunity because while you are learning and exploring in a completely new environment, the experience is more hand-held. There will be tons of growing pains and hard adjustments, but having access to student resources and communities makes it a little less difficult and much less lonely.

My study abroad experience was nearly two years ago and I’ve learned many important lessons outside of the classroom that I take with me everywhere I go, especially on my next (solo-travel) international adventure a month from now!

1. Exploring alone is kind of…fun?

As a recovering people pleaser and someone who used to derive her self-worth from the number of people I had in my social circle, having solo adventuring days was incredibly daunting. However, I can affirm that some of my favorite days from studying abroad were when I explored the local neighborhoods alone.

Why?

You can follow any curiosity, interest, or urge you want. You are in complete control of what you want to eat, where you want to explore, and what you ultimately do.

During the first month of my abroad program, I went to a local neighborhood in Seoul to visit the Cheonggyecheon Museum for a class project. My groupmates and I couldn’t coordinate a time for us to visit together so we decided to go separately and report our findings. It felt like my first big girl solo adventure when in reality, it was just a 12-minute bus ride from my hostel.

I ended up missing the bus stop to the museum and stubbornly decided to walk the rest of the distance rather than spend another $0.92 bus fare. During my walk, I noticed an intriguing, certainly unique sign for a meat market and decided to gander through. Had I been with a friend or classmate, we likely would not have missed the bus stop, walked the way back, or even taken the time to walk through the meat market.

Had I not entered that market, I would have missed out on one of the most memorable culinary experiences of my life…

2. Every day can be filled with adventure if you make it so

Sometimes making a detour can lead you to the best, most unexpected experiences. As I walked through the alleys of the meat market on a Friday afternoon, I almost left as quickly as I decided to enter. I was the only person in the meat market and the meat was much more expensive (albeit higher quality) than I could have imagined. Many vendors tried to sell me meat, but their fast-paced Korean triggered social anxiety I didn’t even know I had.

That was until one of the vendors approached me in English. I explained that although I wanted to try the meat, I had no kitchen to cook it in nor the money to afford it.

“Don’t worry” he explained, “I can slice the meat for your individual portion and they’ll cook it for you upstairs.”

I had seen a few YouTube videos of special Japanese fish markets where you can choose the fish and they’ll cook it for you on the spot, so the concept wasn’t entirely foreign to me. I was just surprised that I happened to find one of those markets by accident!

3. The experience gets better after learning about the culture

I told the butcher that this was the best quality beef I had seen in my life but also the most expensive. He explained that this meat market was known for supplying the Korean specialty, Hanwoo beef.

Essentially, it is the Korean version of the Japanese Wagyu beef. The Hanwoo cattle is a special small breed of cattle, native to Korea. Similar to Japanese Wagyu, there is a tremendous amount of attention to detail in their breeding and careful curation of their diet. In Korean culture, these premium meats are used as special-day gifts and celebratory meals, hence many of the Hanwoo beef packages are more like variety packs so you can try an arrangement of different cuts, textures, and flavor profiles.

Now that I knew the significance of Hanwoo beef to Korean culinary and gifting culture, it felt like a serendipitous encounter. I had to try Hanwoo beef before going to the museum. Plus, my foodie dad would have killed me if I hadn’t seized the miraculous opportunity in front of me.

4. The best food recommendations are always from locals

“What type of meat do you want?” the butcher asked.

“Honestly, anything looks good. But cut me whatever you recommend!”

Perhaps it was because it was a particularly slow day at the Majang Market, but the butcher gave me two different cuts. He then claimed he cut a couple of thousand Korean won (around $3-4) over my target budget and to make up for it, he gifted me two packs of Hanwoo brisket. In total, I spent around $24 for the highest-grade Korean beef in the world.

The butcher then walked me over to the upstairs restaurant so I could grill my food.

Still to this day, that was the best beef-eating experience I’ve had in my life. I’ve had the famous Argentinean steak while in Buenos Aires. I’ve had my fair share of USDA Prime steak and prime rib. I’ve eaten at well-acclaimed restaurants such as Fogo de Chau and the House of Prime Rib. Hanwoo beef at the Majong Market is by far the best I’ve had.

The steak itself was incredibly juicy, fatty, and tender without having the fat content overwhelm the flavor profile of the meat. A common criticism of Wagyu beef is that it’s too fatty and not suitable to eat in larger quantities. Eating the Hanwoo beef in a Korean barbeque style also made the eating experience more interactive, as I could test different flavor profiles against each other, such as pairing the beef with kimchi or a perilla leaf to offset the fatiness.

5. never gatekeep

After leaving the restaurant in a food coma, I knew I had to come back and bring my friends. I returned a few months later with my friend. The market was so big that I couldn’t find the same vendor that I had bought from before. We stumbled upon a women-operated family business in the meat market and still enjoyed eating such high-quality food for an affordable price.

There were some culinary finds that I’ve considered gatekeeping, like where to find Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in Seoul, but the Majang Market could never be one. Many of these vendors and restaurants are run by locals which offers a more unique, authentic experience in comparison to eating in a fancy, expensive restaurant. Plus, if you have something to share and someone to share it with, why wouldn’t you?