Korean soul food, pork belly

 Why are Koreans crazy about pork belly? Why pork belly became the ‘national meat’

What meat do Koreans eat the most? After all, you’re a chi god? Eating beef on a nice day? Or soju’s companion pork? The correct answer is pork. In a survey of meat consumption per capita in 2018, pork ranked first, beating chicken and beef. Pork is Koreans’ favorite meat.

My favorite part of pork is, without a doubt, pork belly. Pork belly is the belly part of a pig. This part is called ‘Pork Belly’ in English. This part is given the name samgyeopsal because it has multiple layers of fat and meat.

But since when did Koreans start liking pork belly so much? And why do I like pork belly so much? Source_Snob ‘Why Koreans like samgyeopsal, the history of samgyeopsal’ 출처_스노브 ‘한국인이 삼겹살을 좋아하는 이유, 삼겹살의 역사

It is said that people did not like pork very much during the Joseon Dynasty. However, ancient Koreans often ate pork, which we know as ‘maekjeok’. It is a food made by marinating pork in soy sauce or soybean paste and grilling it over charcoal. Korea's meat-eating culture was revived around the 13th century. This was the period of intervention by the Yuan Dynasty, and the nomadic people of the Yuan Dynasty were part of the Mongolian people. The Mongolians were a people who enjoyed eating meat. Among them, there was a dish called Şışlıq, which was lamb grilled on skewers over charcoal. It meant grilled skewers. Food similar to this food also appears in Korea. This is a dish where beef marinated in seasoning is placed on a bamboo skewer and grilled over charcoal. It is called ‘Seolhamyeok’ because it was eaten on a snowy day. In the Joseon Dynasty, this ‘Seolhamyeok’ changed to grilling on a grill instead of putting it on a skewer. This food is called neobiani. Neobiani means broadly marinated meat. With the advent of nabiani, charcoal grilling, the most basic way to eat meat, became established in Korea.

The birth of pork belly

However, even though meat-eating was revived due to Mongolia, and even though meat-eating culture was revived in the 13th century, pork was still a despised food. Our ancestors loved beef the most, and other meat was treated as a substitute for beef. The name samgyeopsal appears in a cookbook called 『Joseon Cooking Recipe』 published in the 1930s, and this is the original name of pork belly. It was in the 1980s that samgyeopsal began to replace pork belly and became a commonly used name.

In the 1970s, pork began to be supplied domestically at low prices, and pork consumption increased significantly during the period of economic growth. Inexpensive and delicious pork belly began to be loved by office workers with light pockets, and strong soju, which is cheap and quick to drink, was a perfect match.

• The history of pork belly is not long. In a short period of time, Koreans have completely made pork belly a part of Korean food culture.
• Nowadays, no matter what anyone says, pork belly culture has become one of the symbols of Korean identity. Many Korean restaurants abroad also serve grilled pork belly.
• Pork belly, a food that appeared along with our modern history and has endured through time, is a food that can easily be called the soul food of Koreans.