For a good many ethnic cuisine foodies, eating Asian means eating Thai or Vietnamese food. But the greater Washington area is home to a huge Korean community, with its accompanying markets and bakeries. In Virginia, there are enough Korean food options from the Landmark Mall in Alexandria to Annandale, that the area is known as Koreatown. A drive through will take you past endless restaurants to satisfy your appetite for this spicy cuisine.

Here are a few useful Hangeul phrases to guide you towards the best possible eating experience:

To catch a server's eye = yuh-gi-oh, meaning "here";
Please give me = juseyo, which you add to each of your menu orders;
For more of something, add doh in front of the number you want to have more of. So one more would be Han-gae doh juseyo = Give me one more, please. For two more, substitute deu-gae doh, three more sea-gae doh, four more nae-gae doh.
Cheers = cuhm-bae.
I ate well = chal-mo-guh-soom-needa.

I don't speak Hangeul - these phrases come courtesy of Gourmet magazine. Try them out here:

Arlington
Uraeok, 1500 S. Joyce St, 703 521 3706
Alexandria
Dongwon Restaurant, 4551 Duke Sreet, , 703 370 5166
Dume Sangol, 7324 Richmond Hwy, 703 765 9230
Huibin, Little River Turnpike, 703 941 3737
Fairfax
Junghwawon, 10309 Willard Way,  703 591 0070
Falls Church
Golden Dragonpie, 7930 Lee Highway, 703 560 7701
Gombau, 7133-C Columbia Pike, 703 642 1577
Hanseongok, 6341 Columbia Pike, 703 642 0808      
Springfield
Dong-seo-nam-buk, 6981-C Hechinger Dr, 703 916 7661
Mugyodong, 7133 Columbia Pike,  703 256 2727   
Seoul Ddukbaegi, 7133-B Columbia Pike, 703 256 2727
Vienna
Gammiok, 8413-A Old Courthouse Rd, 703 821 1110
Seoul Gomtang, 8417 Old Courthouse Rd, 703 893 8009

On 14th & L Sts NW, you'll find L Street Vending, a mom-and-son Korean mobile cart serving home-made specialties like bulgogi and bimbimbap with a not overly spicy kimchi on the side.

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2 Comments

1. Drew

   Updates: The Lotte on Parklawn Drive in Rockville closed a year or two ago. Of the Maryland restaurants you listed, Gohyang Sancheon and Hanujeong have closed.
   
   A few Montgomery County Korean restaurants of note: Vit Goel (aka Lighthouse) Tofu on Twinbrook Parkway in Rockville (walkable from Twinbrook Metro Station) excels in its specialty, tofu hot pots, although it also serves a few other Korean dishes. Nearby at the Twinbrook Center on Veirs Mill Road is Hwa Gae Jang Tuh, a Korean barbecue restaurant that recently replaced Ha Dong Oak at the same location. There's also a Shilla Bakery in that shopping center, and another one at the Lotte Plaza shopping center in Silver Spring. I've heard good things about Dolsa Korean BBQ‎ in Gaithersburg and Woo Mi Garden in Wheaton, although I haven't eaten at either.

2. Mickey

   Uraeok (the proper phonetic spelling to Woo Lae Oak) in Arlington is closed, but fortunately, they opened a nicer, more refined Corean restaurant in Vienna, Woo Lae Oak of Tysons Corner (http://woolaeoak.com/tysons.html). This is my favorite Corean restaurant in the DC-area by far!