Banchan

Banchan (also known as panch'an), is a word for small dishes of food. They are served with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. The main dishes that are eaten are "bap" (밥, cooked rice), "guk", or "tang" (soup), "gochujang" or "ganjang", "jjigae", and "kimchi". The table setting is called "3 cheop" (삼첩), "5 cheop" (오첩), "7 cheop" (칠첩), "9 cheop" (구첩), "12 cheop" (십이첩) "bansang". This depends on the number of "banchan" there is. In Korean royal cuisine, the table setting is "12 cheop".
"Banchan" are put on the middle of the table and usually shared, though "guk" (soup) is not shared. Banchan are served little by little. They are meant to be finished at each meal, and more is added if there is not enough. Often, the more formal the meals are, the more "banchan" there will be. Jeolla province is quite famous for serving many different kinds of "banchan" in a single meal.