Is This Also Bigye Samgyeopsal? ... Became a Frequent Question Among Netizens

Customer Story Visiting a Traditional Meat Restaurant in Mokpo, Jeonnam
Meat Restaurant Owner Explains "Served a Large Portion"
Netizen Running the Meat Restaurant Says "Not Samgyeopsal but Ogyeopsal"

A customer’s story about receiving suspicious 'fatty samgyeopsal' meat at a traditional market in Jeonnam has come to light. As the controversy over fatty samgyeopsal spreads, it has become a common question among netizens.

Samgyeopsal served at a restaurant in Mokpo Peace Square.
[Photo by Online Community]

On the 27th, a post titled 'Can you eat this fatty samgyeopsal?' was uploaded on an online community. The author, Mr. A, who went on a trip to Mokpo Peace Plaza with his children over the weekend, began by saying, "I went into a restaurant where one serving of samgyeopsal costs 19,000 won and ordered two servings, but fatty samgyeopsal was served."

Mr. A explained, "When I complained that there was too much fat, the owner said there was nothing wrong and just said that since I brought two kids, they gave me a larger portion. The owner seemed conscious of the situation because he immediately put the meat on the grill and torched it. So, I couldn’t even ask for a replacement and just ended up eating it."

Mr. A added, "The portion shown in the photo weighs 470g and is said to be three servings, but the amount was too small. I ordered samgyeopsal, not ogyeopsal, but there was too much fat, which made me angry. I left a review, but they didn’t mention the fat at all and only said they gave a large portion, so I want to ask how I should complain."

Samgyeopsal served at a restaurant in Mokpo Peace Square.
[Photo by Online Community]

In response to this story, a netizen who runs a butcher shop said, "That’s not samgyeopsal; it’s ogyeopsal. It seems like the wrong menu item was served, and you should have complained to the restaurant on the spot. My shop uses carefully selected meat even if it’s a bit more expensive, and we do a lot of trimming before selling. It’s unfortunate that the meat in the photo wasn’t trimmed. I think it’s better not to go to that place next time."

Meanwhile, following the recent controversy over 'fatty samgyeopsal' at a famous meat restaurant in Jeju Island, related disputes have been spreading nationwide in places like Daegu and Chungnam. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has issued a second edition of the 'Pork (Samgyeopsal) Quality Management Manual,' which guides the removal of fat from wholesale raw samgyeopsal and pre-packaged samgyeopsal. For pre-packaged meat sold at large supermarkets, which consumers most frequently encounter, it recommends trimming fat to less than 1 cm for samgyeopsal and less than 1.5 cm for ogyeopsal, and suggests considering disposal of excessive fat parts. However, since the manual is a recommendation rather than a regulation, there is no enforcement or penalty for non-compliance.