KOPAN 3.92

Kopan is the first Korean street vendor in Copenhagen. After much anticipation, they are opening their first food store for the first time in four years. The name of the store is KOPAN RICE where food lovers can experience diverse Korean food with the concept of a snack bar. Having a seat capacity of 30 people, the restaurant offers Danes unfamiliar with Korean food an opportunity to experience Korean food. Firstly, the price is inexpensive. The most expensive menu ‘Bibimbab’ is 75 dkk; Kimbab and Rice bowl is also 65 dkk. Secondly, KOPAN RICE provides visitors with a wide variety of choices. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the large number of side dishes (반찬; banchan) to complement the main dish. Visitors can naturally experience Korean food culture by ordering side dishes such as Home-made Kimchi, dumpling, jeon, Tteok galbi, jab chae, soup according to their taste. KOPAN menu is sufficient for one meal.

THE CONCEPT BEHIND KOPAN RICE

Experience with Rice culture from Korea

Rice means more than its purpose as a staple food in Korean Cuisine. It is a symbol of life and representation of prosperity. For thousands of years in the past, one’s wealth in Korea was determined by how much of rice had been stored in one’s food storage.

Having four very distinct seasons with a very long cold winter and steep mountains covering 70% of its land, Korea is a difficult place to grow rice. Those seasonal and geographical challenges and limitations, however, have made Koreans to work diligently and effectively in time management. Throughout their history, Koreans have disciplined themselves with one life principle: if you don’t work diligently in the rice field during the spring and summer time, the fall harvest will be affected, and you will not have enough rice to sustain life through the long winter.

Rice translates into “Ssal (쌀)” in Korean. But once cooked, it will have a completely new name; “Bap (밥)”. The word “Bap” means more than just cooked rice. It is an emotion-filled word that recollects one’s childhood and life in general. Bap also has a meaning of a “meal” and it often becomes a tool for socializing. For example, a person extends an invitation to friends or acquaintances by asking them if he can treat the person with Bap–meaning an entire meal and time spent together. Koreans do not just eat one kind of rice. There are several types. I hope this post will help you understand the different varieties of Korean rice so that you can adopt them in your diet.

At Kopan , we would like to give visitors a piece of this unique rice culture. We have compiled our own favorite dishes, which are all based on authentic recipes that taste and honesty.