The Drama: Where Broken Souls Learn to Heal
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (사이코지만 괜찮아) arrived in 2020 and redefined what a K-Drama could be.
Moon Gang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun) is a caregiver at a psychiatric ward who has spent his life protecting his autistic older brother, Moon Sang-tae. He doesn’t dream. He doesn’t hope. He just survives. Then he meets Ko Moon-young (Seo Ye-ji)—a famous children’s book author who is beautiful, brilliant, and profoundly damaged.
She’s selfish where he’s selfless. She takes what she wants while he denies himself everything. Together, they’re a disaster. Apart, they’re incomplete.
What makes this drama extraordinary isn’t just its exploration of mental health—it’s how it normalizes imperfection. Everyone is broken. Everyone is healing. And often, that healing happens around food.
Throughout the series, meals become moments of connection. The staff meals at OK Psychiatric Hospital, the dinners at the cursed castle—food is how these characters learn to be human together. And nothing brings Koreans together quite like samgyeopsal.
The History of Samgyeopsal
What Is Samgyeopsal?
Samgyeopsal (삼겹살) literally means “three-layer meat”—sam (삼) meaning three, gyeop (겹) meaning layer, and sal (살) meaning meat. This refers to the distinctive layers of meat and fat visible in pork belly cross-sections.
At Korean BBQ restaurants, samgyeopsal arrives raw at your table—thick slices of unmarinated pork belly ready to be grilled on a hot plate right in front of you. You cook it yourself, cut it with scissors, wrap it in lettuce with garlic, ssamjang (dipping sauce), and whatever banchan (side dishes) call to you.
The Post-War Rise of Pork
Unlike beef, which has ancient roots in Korean cuisine, samgyeopsal’s popularity is relatively recent—a product of modern Korea’s economic history.
In the 1960s and 70s, Korea was rebuilding from the Korean War. Beef was expensive and scarce. Pork, particularly the belly cut, was affordable. What began as a practical choice became a cultural institution.
| Era | Development |
|---|---|
| 1960s | Pork belly becomes affordable protein during industrialization |
| 1970s | First samgyeopsal restaurants open in Seoul |
| 1980s | Korean BBQ culture explodes with economic growth |
| 2003 | March 3rd designated as “Samgyeopsal Day” (3/3 = sam/sam) |
| Present | Korea’s most consumed meat, central to social dining |
By the 1980s, as Korea’s economy boomed, so did its restaurant culture. Samgyeopsal restaurants multiplied. The combination of DIY grilling, unlimited side dishes, and soju created the perfect social dining experience.
Why Samgyeopsal Is Social Food
In Korea, samgyeopsal is never eaten alone. This is food designed for gathering:
- Hoesik (회식): Company dinners almost always involve samgyeopsal
- Celebrations: Birthdays, promotions, reunions
- Casual meetups: “Let’s grab samgyeopsal” is the Korean equivalent of “Let’s grab drinks”
- Comfort: When someone needs cheering up, friends take them for BBQ
The interactive nature of cooking together, the shared grill, the communal banchan—everything about samgyeopsal is designed to bring people closer. You can’t eat samgyeopsal without engaging with the people around you.
The Perfect Wrap: Ssam Culture
The heart of samgyeopsal isn’t just the meat—it’s the ssam (쌈), the wrap. You take a piece of lettuce (usually sangchu or kkaennip), add a slice of grilled meat, a bit of rice, some garlic, and a swipe of ssamjang. Then you fold it into a bundle and eat it in one bite.
This ritual is deeply Korean. The word ssam means “wrapped,” and the practice has roots stretching back centuries in Korean cuisine.
The Recipe: Moon Gang-tae’s Samgyeopsal
You don’t need a Korean BBQ restaurant to enjoy perfect samgyeopsal. With a good pan or tabletop grill and the right accompaniments, you can recreate the experience at home.
Ingredients
The Meat:
- 500g pork belly (samgyeopsal) (thick-sliced, about 1cm)
For the Table:
- 1 head green leaf lettuce (sangchu)
- Perilla leaves (kkaennip) (optional but recommended) Amazon →
- 1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 2-3 green chili peppers, sliced
- Ssamjang (Korean dipping sauce) Amazon →
- Kimchi Amazon →
- Steamed rice
For the Dipping Sauce (Gireum-jang):
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil Amazon →
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Equipment
- Korean BBQ grill pan (samgyeopsal pan) (slanted to drain fat) Amazon →
- Portable gas stove (for table cooking)
- Kitchen scissors
- Tongs
Video Tutorial
Video by Aaron and Claire - Authentic Korean home cooking
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Accompaniments Wash and dry the lettuce and perilla leaves. Arrange on a plate. Prepare small dishes of ssamjang, sliced garlic, green chilies, and kimchi. Mix the sesame oil dipping sauce (sesame oil + salt + pepper) in a small dish. Have steamed rice ready.
Step 2: Heat the Grill Place your grill pan on the heat source. If using a tabletop burner, set it in the center of your dining table. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot. No oil is needed—pork belly has plenty of fat.
Step 3: Grill the Meat Place pork belly slices on the hot grill. Don’t move them! Let them cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. Flip once and cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Grill the Garlic and Kimchi On the side of the grill (or the edges where it’s less hot), add whole garlic cloves and some kimchi. Let them get slightly charred and caramelized. Grilled garlic becomes sweet and nutty; grilled kimchi intensifies in flavor.
Step 5: Cut and Serve When the meat is cooked through with crispy edges, use scissors to cut it into bite-sized pieces right on the grill. This is the Korean way—scissors are faster and easier than knives.
Step 6: Make Your Ssam Take a lettuce leaf in your palm. Add a piece of meat, a bit of rice, a slice of grilled garlic, some ssamjang, and any other toppings you like. Fold it up and eat it in one bite. The combination of smoky meat, cool lettuce, spicy sauce, and punchy garlic is addictive.
Step 7: Dip and Enjoy Alternatively, dip the meat directly in the sesame oil sauce (gireum-jang) for a simpler, purer taste that highlights the meat’s flavor.
FAQ
What cut of meat is samgyeopsal?
Samgyeopsal is pork belly—the same cut used to make bacon in Western cuisine. The Korean version is fresh (not cured or smoked) and cut into thick slices to be grilled. The three visible layers of meat and fat give it the name “three-layer meat.”
Why do Koreans use scissors to cut meat?
Using scissors at the table is practical and traditional in Korean BBQ. Scissors cut faster than knives, don’t require a cutting board, and work perfectly on the hot grill surface. Plus, everyone has scissors handy at home.
What’s the best way to grill samgyeopsal?
The key is high heat and patience. Don’t move the meat once it hits the grill—let it develop a crispy crust before flipping. The fat should render out, leaving the meat crispy outside and juicy inside. Most Korean BBQ grill pans are slanted to drain the fat away.
What is ssamjang?
Ssamjang (쌈장) is a thick, savory dipping sauce made from doenjang (fermented soybean paste), gochujang (red pepper paste), sesame oil, garlic, and sometimes sugar and green onions. It’s specifically designed for ssam wraps and is essential for samgyeopsal.
Can I cook samgyeopsal in a regular pan?
Yes! While a Korean BBQ pan is ideal (the slant drains fat), a cast iron skillet or regular frying pan works fine. Just make sure it’s very hot before adding the meat, and drain excess fat as you cook.
What drinks pair with samgyeopsal?
Traditionally, soju (소주) is the classic pairing—the clean, slightly sweet liquor cuts through the richness of the pork. Beer is also popular (hence “somaek”—soju + beer mixed). For non-alcoholic options, barley tea (boricha) or cola are common.
How does samgyeopsal appear in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay?
While the drama doesn’t feature samgyeopsal prominently in specific scenes, the communal meals and healing through shared food are central themes. Samgyeopsal represents the Korean philosophy that eating together heals wounds—fitting perfectly with the drama’s message about mental health and human connection.
Make It Tonight
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay taught us that healing doesn’t happen alone. That our broken pieces need other broken pieces. That sitting across from someone, sharing a meal, letting them see you eat—that’s intimacy. That’s trust. That’s the beginning of being okay.
Samgyeopsal is that kind of food. You can’t fake togetherness over a shared grill. You can’t hide behind polite distance when you’re handing someone a perfect lettuce wrap. The smoke rises between you, the meat sizzles, and somehow—somehow—you start talking. You start healing.
Invite someone over tonight. Someone who needs it. Grill some pork belly. Watch what happens.
오늘 밤, 사이코지만 괜찮아 정주행하면서 직접 구운 삼겹살과 함께하는 건 어떨까요?
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Hero image: “A Set of Samgyeopsal” by FOX via Pexels
Part of our K-Drama Kitchen series—cooking the dishes that made us hungry while watching.
