The Korean family will start the day, as long as there is time before dashing off to work, with a good serving of rice and accompanying dishes, quite similar in character to those eaten during the evening, although the preparation and variety may not be so elaborate. These days many townspeople are too busy to prepare a huge breakfast of the kind needed by farmers working in the fields in past times, so they will eat just soup and rice, or a few side dishes, or rice and kimchi for breakfast.
If there is no time to prepare anything at home for breakfast, busy people still manage to eat before starting work by fitting in a quick visit to a cafe or street stall serving a traditional korean breakfast of rice, soup and meat or fish.
Some of the big cities have rows of "breakfast cafe", with their fronts open to the street, and a row of earthenware pots (tukbaege) on the stoves inside containing a simmering porridge-type mixture made of beans, rice or other grains, which are cooked with a lot of water until they are really soft. When you order your breakfast, a raw egg will be broken into the pot and you mix it in yourself when it arrives at the table.