Your parents are/were wise.
The other day I went to a new place and after I ordered (which I I had intentionally overdone because I was taking out a friend’s dad who was visiting) they brought out the banchan — including an almost-entree-portioned fried whole flounder. The server was so impressed non-Koreans decimated the lotsa-bones fish, he offered me another (I would take him up on that next time). We were about 80% full before the mains came.
I love banchan! Am still miffed I can’t find wanja-jeon anywhere anymore: I first tasted them as banchan, but had to teach myself to make them because the place stopped serving them and no one sells them here 
