In a diverse community like Honolulu, learning about a culture requires several ingredients: language, history and food, to name a few. Locals here seem to have a particular interest in food and often e-mail me about the food they see in Korean dramas.

Eating scenes in dramas are very common, since they offer a time for the entire family to get together during otherwise busy days. Dinner used to be the meal of choice in dramas, but nowadays breakfast more often serves as the backdrop for scenes since many characters work late hours and don't make it home for the evening meal.

If you have been watching the drama series "Happiness," you've seen families having a full-scale meal for breakfast, unlike the rushed toast or cereal that often suffice in our real lives here. Because of the contrast, I'm often asked about the typical Korean breakfast. It's usually similar to what's shown in dramas: a serving of some type of stew or soup, grilled fish and several side dishes and rice. However, I know many Koreans who prefer an American-style breakfast in real life because having kim chee at breakfast can be a problem if you are concerned about your breath, especially if you talk face to face with a lot of people at work.

Some viewers have asked about the black-sauce noodles that are commonly seen on dramas. This dish is called jajang myun: flour-based noodles covered with black bean sauce with onions, cabbage, pork or seafood all mixed together. There are several restaurants in Hawai'i that serve jajang myun.

Sauna scenes wouldn't be complete without hard-boiled eggs. Pamela Young did a "Mixed Plate" on eggs using some scenes from K-dramas. Originally, eggs were boiled at hot springs and were considered a healthy comfort food because they were cooked in a natural spring. Health spas that are all the rage also serve hard-boiled eggs that have been cooked in the sauna, hot spring or red-brick heat. I have tried boiled eggs at several places and really can't say they tasted any different from other boiled eggs.

Another recent trend in K-drama is having important dinner scenes in restaurants over full platters of various sashimi. Important business meetings and introductions of boyfriends and girlfriends usually seem to take place in private rooms at Japanese restaurants in K-dramas these days.

However, while dining trends may have shifted, as long as I've been watching K-dramas, eating scenes have always played an important role.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'THE FAMILY OF HONOR'

Episodes 3 and 4

Today at 7:45 p.m.: Both Hyun-ok and Young-hee decide to leave the family. Chairman Ha tries to persuade Young-hee to stay, to no avail. Tae-young desperately tries to keep his marriage, but can't change Hyun-ok's mind. Tae-young decides to let Hyun-ok go, and lets her keep the house. Tae-young and Dong-dong move into the family house.

Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Soo-young realizes he can't change Young-hee's mind. Dong-dong finds out that Hyun-ok's not his real mother, and that his real mother died giving birth to him. Tae-young gets pulled over by Mal-soon twice in one day. Hye-joo passes out over a presentation directed by Dan-ah. Gang-suk and Hyun-gyu develop mutual hatred for each other.

'GLASS CASTLE'

Episodes 1 and 2

Today at 6:45 p.m.: Min-joo gets a big break at work in the afternoon, but messes up the radio show at night. Hye-yong wants to move back home, but her mom says no. Min-joo goes to a fancy party and there's an altercation with Joon-song.

Today at 7:45 p.m.: Joon-song's father plans to make Kyu-song adopt a child. He asks Joon-song to claim the child is his if something goes wrong. Min-joo auditions for the news anchor position, but doesn't get it. Min-joo's mom, Han Yang-sook, finds out Hye-yong ran away from her father's. Joon-song's father pushes the adoption on Kyu-song and Yu-ran.

'TAZZA'

Episodes 11 and 12

Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Nan-sook fails to keep her promise to Go-ni to go to Busan together. Young-min confesses his feelings for Nan-sook. Go-ni is in shock when he finds out Uncle Dae-ho is Jak-du. Ah-gui comes to see Jak-du and Go-ni at his photo studio.

Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: Young-min hands over Bear's secret ledgers to General Choi only to find out the books are fake. But unfazed, Young-min asks General Choi to trust him over Bear. Ah-gui finds out Go-ni is working for Bear and orders Young-min to get rid of him.

'PAINTER OF WIND'

Episodes 8 and 9

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: The king orders his portrait to be painted and the painter will be chosen through a competition. The conspirators believe that the king is making a move to bring to light an incident that happened 10 years ago. They believe that stopping Danwon from winning in the competition is the only way to stop the king's plan.

Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: The painters are asked to draw a portrait from a description. During the competition, Danwon tells Yun-bok to draw the face on the portrait after his glasses break. Yun-bok and Danwon decide to portray the person as cross-eyed. This causes controversy, but it leads them to victory.

Jeff Chung is the general manager of KBFD-TV, which televises Korean dramas with English subtitles in Hawai'i. Reach him for comment at 521-8066 or jeffchung@kbfd.com.