Lunchie

Lunch, or Lunchie, as it is commonly referred to at school, is something that consumes way too much of my thoughts. First of all, it is well-known that school lunch is guaranteed to be bad, and recently it has been confirmed that this is an international affliction. When I first started eating lunchie at school in Korea, I was not only deceived by its flavors but also by its aesthetics. It turns out, after having eaten it for six months straight, one can pick up on the intricacies of the gourmet.
To get specific, let me first start with rice. Rice is the glue that binds the Korean society; without it, Koreans probably would not know how to survive. I will gladly admit that prior to my arrival, rice was rice was rice was rice to me. At school, day by day, different things began appearing in the "rice." These things include but are not limited to beans, sesame seeds, corn, hot dogs and many more unlikely suspects. I guess when you have something as tasteless as rice, it's good to spice it up with something like a hot dog slice. Personally, I can handle the "rice at every meal thing," but when they try to take away that one freedom you're practically guaranteed-- the plain white rice -- it is like taking potatoes from the Irish, mixing them with hot dog slices, and serving it to them as if they won't notice.
The rice is not the root of the problem though; if one finger could be pointed, it would not be pointed at any food, rather simply just salt. Salt is the downfall of most good Korean cuisine. It plagues most dishes but yet it is present in everything. Besides spicy red peppers, salt is the number one "must have" ingredient, and for this reason Korean food will never be recognized as prize cuisine.
Kimchi and its thousands of relatives are funky and unique part of the Korean repertoire. While unpalatable and surprising at first, it is amazing how a person can become quite comfortable and familiar with the stuff. It is pickled, spicy cabbage; it is like no other.
At this point I have gotten in over my head, so I will leave my description of lunchie by saying this: Books could be written about what is so different and strange about the mid-day meal, that is, the way at school Koreans eat.