- This article is about Korean pizza in general. For for more information about the Korean word, see 피자.
If one thing is certain among Western food in Korea, they are infatuated with pizza. On any given street, you can see pizza delivery motorcycles racing all over the place, ranging from western staples like Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa Johns to popular local franchises like Pizza Etang and Mr.Pizza.
Some important things of note as far as Korean pizzas go.
[edit] Ingredients
Kernel corn. Yes, you read right. Corn is a regular on pizzas here. Especially if you order deluxe or loaded pizzas. If thats not your fancy, then be sure to have the "ohk-soo-soo" 옥수수 (corn) removed beforehand.
Potato. Slices of these little baked guys can also find their way on to your pizza, unless you ask to hold the 'gahm-jah' 감자 (potato). Usually, you can order a potato pizza with veggies, but they also can come on the deluxe pizzas.
It doesn't matter if you eat in or have it delivered, you almost always will be given sweet pickles on the side. And usually parmesan, as well.
[edit] Eating in
Lots of the big places like Pizza Hut, Mr.Pizza, and Pizza Mall have salad buffets, but most other places, including Domino's, Papa Johns and the local Korean franchises are all delivery.
[edit] Ordering in
The bad news is that not many Koreans are used to getting phone calls from foreigners ordering pizza, so don't expect to have fluid communication. Expect to be put on hold at times, while they ask around or call other locations, looking for someone that can speak English, or who isn't too shy or overly embarrassed with their English level to muster up the courage to take your order.
The good news is that Konglish and English loanwords are common in the Koreanized western food industry. Just some variances in pronunciation, is all. i.e, "Cheese" comes out as "Cheej-uh" and "Ham" sounds like "Haem". In addition, as so few foreigners phone in to order pizza the store will likely recognize who is doing the ordering after about the second or third call (there have even been stories of ordering the same pizza so often that some people have a relationship with their location where they simply phone, say "hello", hang up and the pizza they always order arrives 20 minutes later). Here are some language pointers to help you navigate this important phone call:
- Possible response you'll hear when you first call:
- I'm a foreigner, can anyone there speak English?
- Possible response you'll hear:
- I'd like to order a pepperoni pizza.= 뻬뻬로니 피자를 하나 주세요
- " " a supreme (loaded) pizza.= 수프림피자 (모든 토핑 있는 피자)를 하나 주세요
- " " a meat-lover's pizza.=
- Two pizzas.= 두개 주세요.
- Three pizzas.= 세개 주세요
- Side of hot wings= 윙도 하나 주세요.
- Side of spaghetti= 스파게띠도 하나 주세요.
- Hold the corn= 콘 빼주세요
- Hold the potatoes= 감자 빼주세요
- Extra sauce= 소스를 많이 주세요
- Extra cheese= 치즈를 많이 주세요
- Thin crust= 얇은 크러스트로 해주세요
- Cheese-stuffed crust= 치즈크러스트로 해주세요
- Large cola= 라지콜라 주세요
- My address is...= 주소는요...
- Possible response you'll hear before/after: 주소가 어떻게 되세요? / 네, 알았습니다 (or repetition of the address to make sure)
- My phone number is...= 제 전화번호는...
- Possible response you'll hear before/after: 전화번호가 어떻게 되세요?
- How long will it take to get here?= 여기까지는 시간이 얼마나 걸려요?
- Possible response you'll hear before/after: 20분 정도 걸릴거예요. (about 20 minutes) 5분도 안 걸려요 (It won't even take five minutes)
- I'd like to change my order= 잠깐, 주문을 바꾸고 싶어요
- I'd like to cancel my order= 주문을 취소하고 싶아요
- I ordered awhile ago and am still waiting. How much longer?= 얼마전에 주문했는데 얼마나 더 기다려야돼요?
- Possible response you'll hear before/after:
[edit] Hours of delivery
I know that some of you are not going to like this, but 24 hour pizza joints are incredibly unheard of. Even Koreans sometimes go on Naver to ask their Q/A threads about where in the hell can one order a pizza at 2 a.m. We think we may have found one in Cheongju on the net, but nothing for the Seoul region or anywhere else, for that matter. If you do hear about a 24 hour place, please contribute the details.
Most pizza places deliver as late as 10:30pm-12am. After that, your pizza cravings will have to be placated by going to tempt the frozen pizza that sits in the freezer at 7-11 or Family Mart.
[edit] See Also
