Editorial Policy
Last reviewed: 3 September 2026
This page explains how the dish pages and guides on Korean Food Guide are made: who writes them, where the facts come from, how the translations are produced, what tools we use, and what happens when we get something wrong. If a page you are reading does not live up to what is written here, that is a defect — please tell us.
Who is responsible
Korean Food Guide is edited and maintained by JK Hwang (황정균), a Korean living in Incheon, South Korea. The descriptions of how a dish tastes, how spicy it really is, and how it is eaten come from growing up with this food, not from reading about it. The editor is not a chef, a nutritionist, or a restaurant owner, and has no commercial relationship with any restaurant or brand mentioned on this site.
Where the information comes from
- First-hand experience for the everyday facts. What a dish is, what it usually contains, how it is served, and what it is like to eat are written from lived experience of eating it in Korea.
- Cited references for history and ingredients.Where a page makes a historical claim, names a regional origin, or lists ingredients that matter for allergies, we cite a reference under “Sources” and we check those links regularly, replacing ones that go dead.
- An honest limit.Recipes vary by household, region, and restaurant. When we say a dish “usually” contains something, we mean usually. If you have an allergy, only the cook in front of you can confirm what is in your bowl.
How a page is built
Every dish on this site is one structured record: names in Korean and English, description, taste and spice level, typical ingredients, dietary notes, how to eat it, sources, and the date it was last checked. The page you read is rendered from that record, which is why every dish page has the same layout. When we say a page was checked or corrected, it is the record that was checked or corrected.
How we use AI tools
We use AI-assisted writing tools (large language models) in two ways. First, to draft and tidy the English text around the facts described above; the editor reviews and edits those drafts before publication. Second — and this is the part we most want to be clear about — to produce the translated versions of each page in the other languages we offer. The English page is the original and the one the editor reviews most closely. Translations are generated from that reviewed English text with AI translation and are spot-checked, not line-edited by a native speaker of each language. If a translation reads awkwardly or gets a term wrong, the English page is the authoritative version, and we welcome corrections.
We do not use AI tools as a source of what a dish is or how it tastes. Nothing on this site is published automatically without a person deciding to publish it.
Verification and updates
- Regular re-checks, in rotation.Pages are reviewed on a recurring schedule; the reference links in each page's sources are checked and replaced when they go dead.
- We do not bump dates for show. A page whose content has not changed keeps its existing date.
- Improvements are real changes.When a page's date moves, something in the record actually changed — a corrected ingredient, a better description, a replaced source.
Corrections
If a description is wrong, an ingredient is missing, or a translation is off, use the contact page and tell us which dish and which language. We check, correct the record, and the page's last-checked date is updated.
Rankings and scores
Where we rank dishes — by spice, by beginner-friendliness, and so on — the method is published on How we rate. Rankings come from the same records described above, and no restaurant or brand can pay to change one.
Independence, advertising, and affiliate links
Korean Food Guide is free to read and is funded by advertising and, on some pages, affiliate links to Korean ingredients or cookbooks. Advertisers and partners have no access to, and no influence over, how a dish is described. We are not a restaurant directory and we do not accept payment to list or recommend restaurants. The details are on our About page.
What we will not do
- Rewrite another site's or blogger's description and pass it off as our own.
- Invent restaurant reviews or “a local told me” anecdotes.
- Present a regional or historical claim as fact without a reference.
- Let an advertiser or affiliate partner change how a dish is described or ranked.
- Give medical or dietary advice. Allergy notes are a starting point, not a guarantee.
Limits of this site
Korean Food Guide is general information for curious eaters. Korean food is regional, personal, and always changing, and any single description is one honest view of it. If you have a food allergy, always confirm the exact ingredients with the cook or restaurant before you eat.