Korean food is especially unique when compared to North American and
European food. Western cuisine relies on dairy products to provide rich flavor.
Koreans consume significantly smaller portions of yogurt, milk, and butter as local
meals do not require dairy products. Milk is consumed as a drink and butter is
limited to use in baked goods. Cheese, a staple of European food, remains an
expensive luxury import in Korea. Prices for dairy products, in general, are nearly
double that of other countries. And although you can find cheese on pizza and
other foreign dishes, the local variety of cultivated cheese is generally bland and
poor in quality when compared to its European counterpart.