How to buy cuts of beef or pork in Korea?

This is a question I often get from readers and I wanted to repost it.

It’s best to find a local butcher. You’ll find them around in each neighborhood, but it really depends on the kind of meat that you would want and the cut. You would go to the chicken guy to get chicken. Most of the fish you can get fairly fresh at a market or you can go to noryrangjin: the fish market. For pork and beef, you’ll find a separate shop and it’s just important you know what cut you are looking for. Here’s a list of cuts of beef and they are applicable to pork as well.

갈비 Short Rib/Plate
갈비본살 Boneless Chuck Short Rib
갈비심 Rib Eye Roll
곱창 Small Intestine
긴 혀 Tongue Long Cut
꼬리 Ox Tail
꾸리살(전각살) Chuck Tender
대창 Large Intestine
도가니 Leg Cartiledge
뒷사태 Hind Shank
등갈비 Back Rib
목갈비 Chuck Short Rib
목심 Chuck Roll
보섭살 Rump Round
볼살 Cheek Meat
부채살(서대살) Top Blade(Flat Iron)
뼈사태 Bone-in Shin Shank
사분도체 Quarter
사태 Shin Shank
살치살 Chuck Flap
설깃 Outside Round
설도상 Top Sirloin Butt
설도하(도가니살) Knuckle
소간 Liver
스지 Tendon
안심 Tenderloin
안창살 Outside Skirt, Thin Skirt, Diaphragm
알목심 Chuck Eye Roll
앞다리(대분할) Chuck
앞다리(소분할) Shoulder Clod
앞사태 Fore Shank
양(1위) Tride Intestine
우둔상 Round Top, Inside
우둔하 Round Bottom
우설 Beef Tongue
우족 Beef Feet
이분도체 Side (Half Carcass)
잡육 Trimming
정선 혀 Tongue Swiss Cut
제비추리 Neck Chain(Rope Meat)
중간 혀 Tongue Square Cut
짧은 혀 Tongue Short Cut
차돌백이 Brisket,,Deckle off
차돌양지 Brisket,Flank
채끝(채끝등심) Striploin (Striploin)
치마살 Thin Flank
토시살 Hanging Tender, Thick Skirt
홍두깨살 Eye of Round

In Korea, the cuts near the bone are more expensive. Galbi is quite expensive, but other cuts such as brisket and flank are not. Also the bones are expensive because they are used for soup.

There are kosher butchers in Itaewon as well.

Thank you so much for reading! And I hope this helps!

Dan

About the Author

Daniel

Daniel Gray is a Korean adoptee that returned to Korean in 2005 because he wanted to try and find his birth mother and to learn about Korean culture. He started a restaurant review blog in 2007, www.seouleats.com, that became a local and international hit. He and his blog has been featured in the New York Times, Monocle Magazine, The Kimchi Chronicles, Bizarre Foods, Rudy Maxa, Olive Magazine, Euronews and much more. He now is a partner at O’ngo Food Communications (www.ongofood.com), which is a culinary tourism and consulting company that offers Korean cooking classes and restaurant tours to travelers. Their food tours and cooking classes are ranked as one of the top attractions in Seoul according to tripadvisor.

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