Join a North Korean defector chef and learn how to make one of North Korea’s most famous street foods (vegan and vegetarian friendly). We will make two of the most famous foods that were widely eaten during the famine of the 1990s. Created with very simple ingredients, these dishes are paradoxically eco-friendly and healthy. They contain no animal products and use only minimal sugar. Discover the stories behind the food and experience the history and resilience they represent. While cooking together, you will hear stories about everyday life in North Korea and the meaning behind the food. You will also have the rare opportunity to hear her personal story about life in North Korea and her journey to freedom.
We made two tofu dishes. Jun talked to us about the significance behind them and shared both the guides' stories about life in North Korea and how they'd escaped. We were free to ask as many questions as we could think of while eating very interesting and tasty dishes. 10/10 would recommend!
We had amazing experience, the hosts answered all of our questions and we got to learn a lot of things about life in North Korea. The food was also great.
It was amazing hearing about everything they had to say, and getting educated about the reality of North Korea.
We had an amazing experience. The guides were very open and were extremely kind. The food was also amazing. Definitely worth your time!
It was so so so cool and fun! The food was so good and the length was perfect they told us all about their life stories and were very kind! I would 100% recommend
food was absolutely delicious, and the customer service was 10/10 very kind.
the food was delicious and I learned so much about north korea!!!
Nicest people! So many great stories, the food was amazing and teaching was very good! Totally recommend to anyone considering. Seriously the nicest staff.
This was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable experiences. It’s so much more than a 'cooking class', it is a powerful cultural exchange. Our hosts shared incredibly moving personal stories about their life and their journey, which gave such deep context to the food we prepared together. The dishes were simple, authentic and delicious, but the real highlight was the conversation. If you are looking for a genuine, human-to-human connection and a rare insight into North Korean culture, I cannot recommend this enough. It was an eye-opening and deeply emotional experience that I will remember for a long time.
Very interesting stories from the hosts and delicious food. I was engrossed by their personal experiences and the food they helped us make was excellent. I certainly recommend this establishment for anyone seeking good food, amazing people, and interesting stories.
This class was great! The stories were really interesting and the food was delicious. The venue is really nice and the hosts were kind and exited to share their stories.
Genuinely such an amazing experience, gave me a completely new perspective on a country Ive only heard rumors about. They were so nice, helpful, and detailed in their storytelling.
Wow, this dinner was life-changing, to get to hear both stories was so deep. The food was amazing and it was cool to get to make it yourself. The Rustic Pathways group thanks you for everything!
Must-do!!!! incredibly cool to hear about and the food tasted great.
I will be recommending this experience to anyone and everyone. I brought a student group to this cooking class and while it was a wonderful class that taught us about preparing traditional North Korean food, it was also a profound experience to hear about Chef Se Eun and Jun’s lives. We all left feeling moved, educated, and incredibly grateful. I will never forget this experience! THANK YOU Se Eun and Jun for sharing your stories with us. If you are in Seoul and you only do one thing, this should be it!!!!!
This is one of those landmark moments in your life that you never want to forget. We just came from doing a DMZ tour in the morning so everything was very real and visceral in our minds. Highly recommended to pair the two. We had a group of 11 teenagers and 4 adults. Every single person was impacted by the stories our hosts shared of life in NK, their incredible escape, history of the area, their current lives, and hopes for the future. We were on a 2 week Japan/Korea trip and out of that whole 2 weeks, this may have been the absolute pinnacle experience.
Jun and Se Eun were amazing hosts. Hearing them tell their stories was so emotional and thought provoking. They answered all our questions with thoughtfulness and positivity. It was also a tremendous experience to combine all of that storytelling with food that connects culturally to all that we learned. 100% would recommend.
Hard to put into words the emotions I felt. Incredible and one of the highlights of this year.
I had an amazing time learning about North Korean food and cooking techniques! Wisung was exceptionally friendly and clearly guided us through each step. The food was delicious and I left having learnt a great amount about North Korean culture!
An experience of Korea is incomplete without an understanding of the North Korean community's contributions to K-culture. Making dububap and injongogibap with our guides was a unique, moving, and informative time. Experiencing a culture through its cuisine, especially what ingredients are available and how food is prepared and shared, offers a glimpse into the everyday lives of the people. I'd recommend this experience to anyone who wants to learn about North Korean life beyond nuclear narratives and see how individuals find joy in sharing meals. As a bonus, it's all amazing vegan food! Plus, our guides were open about their stories from life in North Korea and provided context about the food we made together.
I had such a great time at this cooking class! Getting to make the food from scratch and eat it right away was honestly the best part; everything tasted so much better knowing I made it myself. I loved that I was involved in the whole cooking process from start to finish, so I actually came away with the recipe and feel like I could make it at home! What really stood out to me was that it wasn't just about learning how to cook — it was about connecting through food and culture.
I've eaten North Korean street food before but this was my first time making it. I was a bit nervous as I've never participated in a cooking class before, but the teachers did a great job at explaining the ingredients and cooking methods. They also patiently answered any questions we had. Everyone who participated in the class came from different countries so it was also interesting to share about our hometowns and the foods we eat there. I would definitely attend again and bring along more friends!
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
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