If This Is Fair... China Claims "Samgyeopsal" as Chinese Cuisine Following Kimchi and Samgyetang

China's Largest Portal Baidu Encyclopedia

The encyclopedia of Baidu (百度), China's largest portal site, is causing controversy by describing samgyeopsal as 'Chinese cuisine,' following kimchi and samgyetang.

On the 2nd, Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University shared this fact on his social media service (SNS) Facebook, stating, "At this point, it is no exaggeration to say that this goes beyond the 'kimchi controversy' to the 'Korean food controversy.'

[Image source=Pixabay]

He said, "Baidu's encyclopedia claims that 'samgyeopsal gui' originated from 'stir-fried pork with green onions wrapped in Chinese pancakes.'

He added, "Baidu also states that 'samgyeopsal gui is the most ordered menu item at meat restaurants in every alley,' and especially emphasizes that 'samgyeopsal is one of the best representative dishes of China.'

[Photo by Seokyungdeok, Professor at Sungshin Women's University, Facebook capture]

Professor Seo explained, "Although there are no accurate historical records about samgyeopsal, food experts estimate that the method of grilling samgyeopsal and serving it wrapped in leaves began in the mid to late 1970s. It is widely accepted that it is a 'modern dish' representing Korean cuisine with a relatively short history. In other words, it can be called the 'soul food' of Koreans."

He expressed his determination, saying, "I will correct Baidu's errors. After persistently protesting the claim that 'Korean kimchi originated in China,' that sentence was once removed. I will definitely stop Baidu's ongoing 'Korean food controversy.'

Netizens who saw this responded with comments such as "China's groundless claims are tiresome," "Good things belong to China, bad things belong to other countries?" "Chinese people probably don't even know how to wrap samgyeopsal," and "Until a few years ago, the concept of 'samgyeopsal' did not even exist in China."