All About Korea’s Popular Beef Dish.

Among Korea’s most known and popular dishes is bulgogi – the thinly-sliced marinated beef that’s so full of flavor, and best served with rice. Read about the bulgogi history and its origins before it was known as bulgogi.

Bulgogi History and Origins

“Bulgogi” translates to “fire meat” as the word refers to how the beef is cooked over heat. The dish originated back in the Goguryeo era (37 B.C. to 668 A.D.) when it was called maekjeok consisting of marinated beef cooked on skewers over a grill.

The dish then evolved to seoryamyeok which was marinated beef roasted and soaked in cold water. In the early 20th century, the marinated beef dish was then called neobiani. The thinly-sliced beef was seasoned in a marinade of soy sauce, salt, pepper, scallions, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, and pear juice, and then charbroiled.

The dish was loved and primarily enjoyed by the royal family. In the 1920s, the dish was commercialized to the public and became known as bulgogi which involved thinly sliced marinated beef that was either roasted or boiled.

Under Japanese occupation between 1910 to 1945, there was a shortage of beef in which prices soared and bulgogi was not as consumed. However, in the 1990s, bulgogi was revitalized and further popularized with immigrants to the US and abroad.

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