How the names formed, and what each main cut yields

A survey of pork cuts begins with how some of the Korean names took shape. In dictionaries published before the 1970s, samgyeopsal does not appear; se-gyeopsal was used instead. Se-gyeopsal is found in the Dong-A Ilbo of 3 November 1934, page 4; samgyeopsal is found in the Kyunghyang Shinmun of 20 January 1959, page 4. Galmaegisal is meat from the pig’s diaphragm. It was first called garomaksal, then the name changed, and it is found in print from 1995. Gabrisal was once scrap from the back — deungjab-yuk — ground for dumplings or hamburgers, then registered as a formal cut. The name is traced to the Japanese kaburu, “to put on,” and a change of the Korean name to deunggyeopsal has also been recommended. Hangjeongsal was previously treated as neck meat; the term appears to draw on the character for the nape. It has also been called cheon-gyeopsal, cheon-gyeop-chadol, or don-chadol, and is first found in newspaper articles after 2000.

Neck, continuing from the loin toward the head, is given a yield of 6 percent and 5.14 kilograms. The color is a red-tinged pink; the grain is a little rough and on the tough side, but a layer of fat and sinew spread irregularly inside gives a rich, savory taste, and the cut is named, with belly, among the tastiest of the pig. Uses include charcoal grilling, a roast, boiled slices, grilling, bossam, and a seasoned jumulleok. Ribs, separated from the neck and the front leg at the forechest, are given at 3.8 percent and 3.26 kilograms, from the first to the fourth or fifth rib and the meat between the bones. Extract from the bone soaks into the meat, intramuscular fat is well set, and the cut has traditionally been used for a grilled or braised pork rib, or for a seasoned rib, as well as for barbecue and stew.

Loin is given at 9.0 percent and 7.71 kilograms: a cylindrical length of the long back muscle, running along the center of the back after the neck, from the fifth or sixth thoracic vertebra to the front of the hind leg. Because it does little work, the color is light and the meat is tender; uses include a breaded cutlet and a sweet-and-sour fry. Tenderloin, at 1.5 percent and 1.3 kilograms, sits inside the lumbar vertebrae as a pointed, long rod, the same position as beef tenderloin. It is low in fat, light in taste, and a lower-calorie cut that can also be used for a soy-braised stew, curry, japchae, a sweet-and-sour fry, or smoked barbecue, and is described as easy on people watching their weight or with weaker teeth.

Belly is given at 11.4 percent and 9.77 kilograms: the abdomen after the ribs are taken off, as far as the front of the hind leg, wide and flat, with muscle and fat in three layers. Galmaegisal, back ribs, and a few neighboring pieces are grouped with it. Fat is high and protein lower, with a modest amount of vitamins and minerals; the meat is not tough, and the taste is rich. Uses include grilling, bacon, boiled slices, and a steam. The front leg, at 11.3 percent and 9.68 kilograms, is the muscle around the upper arm and the shoulder blade, a working cut whose grain is a little rough and whose color is darker than other cuts; uses include grilling, a seasoned fry, stew, curry, and boiled slices or bossam. The hind leg, ham, is given at 17.6 percent and 15.08 kilograms: thick, lower in fat, a light taste, with more protein and vitamin B1 than other cuts, and, because it works, more sinew and fascia, so it can be tough, though softness varies inside the cut. Uses include a seasoned fry, a soy-braised stew, a quick swish in broth, jumulleok, stew, and a sweet-and-sour fry.

Keeping, cooking, choosing, and a short note on aging

Leftovers to be cooked within two days are kept in a container in the fridge. If they must be frozen, they go into a container so the surface does not dry in the freezer. A large piece that is thawed and frozen again spoils quickly, so usable portions are cut from the start, wrapped, and taken out one at a time. Ground meat that will not be used that day is frozen at once, spread thin and sealed, so that it thaws quickly later. Chilled meat is preferred; frozen meat is moved to the fridge, at 0 to 5°C, the day before cooking, so that it thaws slowly and keeps more juice. A rapid thaw loses more juice. In a hurry, the meat may be wrapped and set in running water, or a microwave used; thawed meat is not frozen again, because repeated thawing and freezing weaken the grain and make rancidity easier. Pork is cooked through — it matters — but not so far that the original taste is lost; it should feel springy when lightly pressed. For sliced cold meat, it is cooked until a clear juice runs when it is pierced. A high flame first, to seal both sides and hold the juice, then a low flame, is advised. Fat adds flavor; because it is not mixed through the lean, trimming it all away leaves the meat dry and dull. When there is too much, a suitable amount is left and the rest taken off; tenderloin, with almost no fat, is used in dishes that take cooking oil. Pork holds more moisture than some other meats, so it discolors and spoils faster, and is cooked or frozen soon after purchase. It sits well with apple, pineapple, pickle, tomato ketchup, vinegar, and sweet sauces, and with green onion, rice wine, star anise, ginger, onion, pepper, garlic, and pear juice, which take off a lingering smell and raise the flavor. Tendons between lean and fat are cut here and there so the piece keeps its shape when heated. For a stew, the meat is briefly boiled, then seasoned lightly and simmered so the seasoning soaks in. For a grill, it may be laid in onion, pear, and ginger juices and wine, with sugar, then soy, then sesame oil last; a long marinade draws out juice and leaves the meat less tender.

A meat counter posts a sign on the face of the meat: the official large or small cut name as notified by the government, a suitable use, origin — domestic by type, or, for an import, the exporting country in parentheses — a grade the shop may show on its own, and a price per 100 grams. A grading system classifies quality by a government standard, and a buyer is advised to look at the grade. Grading is mandatory for domestic beef and pork. A pork grade combines yield and quality; only a well-fattened sow or a castrated pig is given A or B. Shops may show A, B, C, D, or E. Premium meat is meat judged A or B; that judgment covers all the meat from the animal, not only the loin. A favorite cut — loin, tenderloin, striploin, and the like — is a different idea, and can still come from lower-grade meat. Fine, even fat inside the lean tastes good. Displayed color is best a bright red; the cut face of a chunk is normally a purplish red. Meat is about 70 percent moisture, and looks well when it has a sheen and a moderate film of moisture on the surface. Meat from a healthy pig has a soft, moist grain; meat from a stressed or older pig may be gray, and the grain may lack spring or feel tough. Aging from the meat’s own enzymes can help flavor, but too much aging brings an over-aged smell and lowers flavor. A higher temperature ages the meat faster, but bacteria also flourish, so cooking after a day or two at around 4°C is preferred. Sources listed at the end include a 2018 collection from the Korean Pork Board, a 2016 note on producing premium meat, a 2009 study of pork aged at a low temperature with chile paste and vinegar, a 2015 note on breeding for high-quality Korean pork, a 2009 analysis of Korean consumers’ pork preferences, and a 2010 note on encouraging domestic pork consumption. Each is left in its own year. The same Korean report, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.

Sources

1. A Korean survey of pork cuts, with dated first appearances of the names, carcass yields, cooking notes, and references from 2009 to 2018.

Last updated: 14 November 2026