“Made In Korea” Pojangchama
“Made In Korea” Pojangchama
If you’ve ever watched Korean dramas, you certainly cannot forget the image of tents and refreshment bars sparkling in the middle of frozen streets of Seoul. They are called Pojangmacha (포장 마차). Pojang (포장) in Korean means “packing”, Macha (마차) is “chariot”.
In Korea, Pojangmacha is the small roadside shop, which is normally erected from orange waterproof canvas sheets and a mobile carts selling food and drink to people. This kind of eatery is a familiar address where characters in the movie usually vent their feelings on their friends, have some cordial conversations or simply ease their griefs alone at night… with glasses of traditional soju.
Pojangchama often opens in late afternoon until 3 ~ 4 am of the next day. The small truck has been modified into a relatively perfect kitchen. Sellers will stay behind the stove with red fire burning, around lying hot dishes always served with competitive prices. Therefore, Pojangchama usually welcomes numerous customers especially in days of cold weather. The restaurant has a large canvas covered around to lessen the disturbance from outside environment.
Customers to visit Pojangchama are extremely diverse: from students to young men in white shirt or middle-aged workers … They rush by, grab something to eat to drown out the cold and peacefully enjoy the view of the streets full of busy people walking by…
Drinks offered by Pojangchama are often normal wines and popular traditional stuffs such as Soju, rice wine Makgoli. Noticeably, indispensable dishes sold from this mobile roadside shop are definitely rice cakes Tobokki, Oteng soaked in boiling broth, fried tempura, grilled chicken and even Udong. While eating, every eater have to express big surprise about the spice, hotness and of course deliciousness.
Everything about Pojangmacha is markedly “made in Korea”, which places a deep impression upon foreign visitors’ minds. The shopkeepers are friendly, cheerful and always willing to chat with customers. If you are a foreigner, they will even serve you more food, or help you to choose the dish of your interest while you’re still wondering what to eat … It’s an interesting Korean culture experience, right?
