The bell on the table: how to ask for things in a Korean restaurant

In most casual Korean restaurants, nobody hovers. The server who seated you has gone. From there the meal runs on a few signals: a button, a word, a drawer and a walk to the counter. Locals use them without thinking, and visitors often find them late.

The button and the word

Many tables have a small wireless bell fixed to the table edge or the wall beside it. Pressing it is not rude. It is how you order, ask for more side dishes or call for anything else, and your table number lights up on a panel by the kitchen.

Where there is no bell, raise a hand slightly and say jeogiyo (저기요), roughly “excuse me,” at an ordinary volume. Waiting to catch someone’s eye rarely works, because the staff are listening for the bell or a voice.

저기요, 여기 반찬 좀 더 주세요.

What you fetch yourself

Spoons and chopsticks are often kept in a shallow drawer built into the table, or in a lidded box beside the tissues. Water is often self-service. A sign reading mul-eun selpeu (물은 셀프), “water is self-serve,” points to a dispenser and a stack of steel cups.

Whoever sits nearest the drawer usually sets out spoons and chopsticks for the whole table, laid on a paper napkin, before the food arrives. It is a small gesture, and people notice it.

Paying on the way out

At most casual places, nobody brings the bill to your table. The receipt is left on the table, and you carry it to the counter by the door as you leave. Tipping is not expected. Instead, people say a quiet jal meogeosseumnida (잘 먹었습니다), “I ate well,” toward the counter or the kitchen as thanks.