Four Autumns at Yeongam, Kimchi at Every Meal

South Korea hosted four Grands Prix at Yeongam from 2010 to 2013, and its cooking builds every meal from rice, kimchi and a spread of side dishes.

The Korean Grand Prix had a short run in the World Championship: four editions, from 2010 to 2013, always in October, at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam County. Fernando Alonso won the first in 2010, and Sebastian Vettel won the next three, which left the later chapters short on suspense.

No South Korean driver or team appears in our records, so the country's chapter in the sport is those four autumn races.

Korean cooking grew from ancient farming and nomadic traditions on the peninsula and in southern Manchuria, and it shares much with the North. Rice, vegetables, seafood and, in the South, meat form its base, while dairy plays almost no part. A traditional meal takes its name from the number of small side dishes, banchan, that surround a bowl of steamed short grain rice, and kimchi appears at nearly every meal. Many of those dishes rely on fermentation for a tangy, salty, spicy depth, and kimjang, the making of kimchi, is recognized by UNESCO.

The pantry is distinctive: napa cabbage and fermented red chili paste, sesame oil, fermented bean paste, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and chili flakes. Regional dishes have often become national favorites, and street stalls sell fish cakes and spicy rice cakes. Noodles have a long tradition of their own, from cold buckwheat naengmyeon to knife cut kalguksu. For a race weekend, a bowl of bibimbap and a plate of japchae make a colorful Korean table.

A taste of South Korea

• Bibimbap, Mixed rice bowl with vegetables and egg
• Bulgogi, Sweet soy marinated grilled beef
• Gimbap, Korean seaweed rice rolls
• Tteokbokki, Spicy simmered rice cakes with fish cakes
• Damyang tteokgalbi, Glazed grilled beef short rib patties
• Naju gomtang, Clear beef and brisket soup with rice
• Subak soju, Watermelon soju punch served in the melon
• Sujeonggwa, Chilled cinnamon and ginger punch
• Hotteok, Sweet pancakes filled with cinnamon sugar

Circuits

• Korean International Circuit

Drivers