Dosirak

A packed lunch box of rice and side dishes, traditionally eaten at school, work, or on day trips.

Dosirak is not a single dish but a practice — the Korean tradition of packing rice and banchan into a compartmented box to be eaten away from home. For decades, school children carried aluminium dosirak heated on classroom stove tops, and the smell of warming dosirak was an integral part of the school day experience in Korea through the 1980s and 90s. Mothers competed informally in the complexity and care of their packing — a well-made dosirak with fried egg, braised burdock, seasoned vegetables, and perfectly shaped rice was a point of social pride. The dosirak tradition has experienced a modern revival in premium form: upscale restaurants and train station vendors sell beautiful multi-tiered boxes with seasonal ingredients, and outdoor concert-goers often purchase artisan dosirak as part of the event experience. KTX train dosirak culture, where passengers eat their packed boxes while watching the countryside pass at 300 kilometres per hour, is considered a distinctly Korean pleasures.