Can I ask for more banchan (side dishes) for free at a Korean restaurant?
Yes. At most sit-down restaurants in Korea, basic side dishes such as kimchi and seasoned vegetables are refilled for free, and asking for more is completely normal. Nobody will think you are greedy; an empty kimchi dish simply tells the staff you liked it.
The reason is that we don't think of 반찬 (banchan, side dishes) as extras. A Korean meal is rice plus the things you eat with rice, so the price of your stew or grilled fish quietly covers the little plates around it. We tell the whole story, from royal tables to today's lunch spots, in our piece on why a Korean meal arrives with a table full of little plates.
Asking is easy. Catch a server's eye or call out 저기요 (jeogiyo, "excuse me"), point to the empty dish and say 이거 더 주세요 (igeo deo juseyo, "more of this, please"). Before you call anyone, though, look around for a self-serve corner marked 셀프 (selpeu, "self-service"). It is common in casual eateries, and if there is one, staff expect you to refill your dishes yourself. At barbecue places the same goes for lettuce and other wrapping greens, one of the unwritten rules of Korean BBQ.
Not everything refills for free, though:
- Special or pricier sides, like a pan-fried pancake or a piece of grilled fish, may come only once. In some places steamed egg is a separate item on the menu.
- Delivery and takeout orders often charge for extra side dishes.
- Rising vegetable prices are testing the custom. In early 2026 restaurant owners openly debated charging for refills (in an online poll reported by The Korea Herald, most still said no), and Korean news has since reported places asking a small fee for extra lettuce or kimchi. When that is the case, there is usually a sign on the wall or a line on the menu.
Korean restaurants outside Korea set their own rules, so if you are not sure, just ask. Wherever you eat, ask only for what you will finish: Korea's food hygiene law bars restaurants from serving food one customer left behind to anyone else, so most leftover banchan goes straight into the bin. And filling containers at the self-serve bar to take home is the one move that will genuinely annoy the owner.
