Summer Food

[Anchor Lead]

In the grips of an unprecedented heatwave, Koreans are trying to cool down and get back some of their energy with some of their favorite summertime dishes. Let’s take a look.

[Pkg]

This restaurant is jam-packed with customers. A big bowl of steaming mudfish soup is served on the table. This is a special energizing lunch menu.

[Soundbite] Park Jo-eun(Customer) : "It was so hot lately that I sweated a lot and had a hard time, but I feel recharged after eating this mudfish soup."

A long line of customers stretches in front of this restaurant even before noon. Foreign tourists exhausted from Korea's sizzling heat wave try to survive the heat with Korean-style summer energizer menus.

[Soundbite] Gwang Xiaomin(Chinese tourist) : "I think it's great, because the rice is sticky, the broth delicious and ingredients are fresh."

Samgyetang or chicken and ginseng soup parties were held nationwide for senior citizens who endure the heat alone in their stifling rooms. Korea's iconic summer health food is the best gift to the elderly who couldn't turn on their cooling fans or air conditioner for fear of racking up high electricity bills.

[Soundbite] Kang Yeong-ja(Festival Participant) : "I'm very grateful that the elderly are given special treatment."

Korea's record-breaking heat wave has also boosted the sales of packaged samgyetang at large supermarkets by 53% from last year. Sales of beef soups like galbitang and gomtang have also soared by 120%.

[Soundbite] Choi Ji-ho(Consumer) : "It's too hot. I can't dare go to a restaurant, so I'm just going to eat in."

These hearty and nutritional dishes are helping Koreans survive the summer in their own way.