Korean food calorie table: 24 everyday dishes
Based on official Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety data
Search for the calories in a dish and different sites give different numbers, usually because they draw on different sources or quote different reference amounts. The values below are taken directly from the nationwide standard food nutrition dataset published by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety through the national open data portal.
Each table shows the value per 100g and a conversion to a typical serving. Serving weights are estimates based on how these dishes are usually served, so your own portion may differ.
Rice, noodles and street food
| Dish | Per 100g | Serving | Per serving |
|---|---|---|---|
| White rice (쌀밥) | 166kcal | 1 bowl, 210g | 349kcal |
| Brown rice (현미밥) | 172kcal | 1 bowl, 210g | 361kcal |
| Barley rice (보리밥) | 161kcal | 1 bowl, 210g | 338kcal |
| Gimbap (김밥) | 140kcal | 1 roll, 230g | 322kcal |
| Bibimbap (비빔밥) | 142kcal | 1 bowl, 450g | 639kcal |
| Fried rice (볶음밥) | 188kcal | 1 bowl, 400g | 752kcal |
| Kalguksu noodles (칼국수) | 77kcal | 1 bowl, 600g | 462kcal |
| Jjamppong (짬뽕) | 58kcal | 1 bowl, 700g | 406kcal |
| Sujebi (수제비) | 58kcal | 1 bowl, 600g | 348kcal |
| Dumpling soup (만두국) | 62kcal | 1 bowl, 600g | 372kcal |
| Tteokbokki (떡볶이) | 144kcal | 1 serving, 250g | 360kcal |
| Sundae (순대) | 184kcal | 1 serving, 200g | 368kcal |
Soups and stews
| Dish | Per 100g | Serving | Per serving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seaweed soup (미역국) | 12kcal | 1 bowl, 300g | 36kcal |
| Seolleongtang (설렁탕) | 24kcal | 1 bowl, 600g | 144kcal |
| Doenjang stew (된장찌개) | 46kcal | 1 serving, 400g | 184kcal |
| Galbitang (갈비탕) | 54kcal | 1 bowl, 600g | 324kcal |
| Kimchi stew (김치찌개) | 61kcal | 1 serving, 400g | 244kcal |
| Samgyetang (삼계탕) | 101kcal | 1 bowl, 700g | 707kcal |
Soups look low per 100g because most of that weight is broth. The bowls are large, though, so the final intake is not small. Samgyetang at 707kcal a bowl is roughly two bowls of rice.
Meat and side dishes
| Dish | Per 100g | Serving | Per serving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasoned spinach (시금치나물) | 69kcal | 1 dish, 70g | 48kcal |
| Seasoned bean sprouts (콩나물무침) | 69kcal | 1 dish, 70g | 48kcal |
| Stir-fried squid (오징어볶음) | 124kcal | 1 serving, 150g | 186kcal |
| Japchae (잡채) | 146kcal | 1 dish, 200g | 292kcal |
| Spicy stir-fried pork (제육볶음) | 195kcal | 1 serving, 200g | 390kcal |
| Grilled pork belly (삼겹살구이) | 467kcal | 1 serving, 150g | 701kcal |
What the table tells you
1. Cooking method often matters more than ingredient
The same ingredient grilled, stir-fried or deep-fried lands in very different places. Fat carries 9kcal per gram against 4 for carbohydrate and protein, so any method that adds oil moves the number quickly. Grilled pork belly reaching 467kcal per 100g is almost entirely down to its 41.7g of fat.
2. Vegetable side dishes are not as light as they look
Seasoned spinach is 69kcal per 100g, and 4.5g of that is fat — not from the spinach, but from the sesame oil it is dressed with. Portions are small at around 70g, so a serving still comes in under 50kcal.
3. A bowl of rice is a large share of the day
At 349kcal, one bowl is about 23% of a 1,500kcal target. Halving it saves 175kcal a day — roughly 5,000kcal a month, or about 0.7kg of body fat.
4. Leaving the broth genuinely counts
Since most of a soup's weight is liquid, eating the solids and leaving the broth measurably lowers intake. It cuts sodium at the same time.
Finding dishes that are not listed
The site holds 16,195 food entries beyond these 24. Search a dish in the "Food Log" tab of the calorie calculator to see calories per 100g plus carbohydrate, protein and fat, then enter how much you ate and it converts automatically.
Note that food names are in Korean, because the official dataset is published only in Korean. Searching part of a name works better than the full name.
Source: Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, nationwide standard food nutrition dataset (Korean open data portal). Serving weights are estimates based on typical portions; actual values vary with recipe, ingredients and restaurant.