on
Travel Tips
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
It is 35°C outside.
The humidity is high.
You have been sweating since you left your hotel.
So what do Koreans line up to eat?
Ice cream?
Cold noodles?
A giant iced drink?
Sometimes.
But on some of the hottest days of the Korean summer, you may see long lines outside restaurants serving:
삼계탕 — Samgyetang
A boiling-hot soup containing an entire young chicken.
Yes.
Hot soup.
In the middle of summer.
For many first-time visitors, this makes absolutely no sense.
But once you understand:
복날 — Boknal
and:
이열치열 — Iyeolchiyeol
you begin to understand one of Korea's most interesting seasonal food traditions.
1. What Is Samgyetang?
Samgyetang is usually translated as:
Ginseng Chicken Soup
A small whole chicken is stuffed with ingredients such as:
Glutinous rice
Ginseng
Garlic
Jujube
and simmered until tender.
Korea Tourism Organization describes samgyetang as a young chicken stuffed with sweet rice, garlic, jujube and ginseng, served as one of Korea's representative summer energy foods.
The soup usually arrives:
Still bubbling.
Not warm.
Not lukewarm.
Hot.
Very hot.
2. And Koreans Eat This on the Hottest Days?
Exactly.
That is what surprises visitors.
Samgyetang is especially associated with:
복날 — Boknal
the traditional “dog days” of the Korean summer.
Korea's National Folk Museum explains that the three Bok days are:
초복 — Chobok
중복 — Jungbok
말복 — Malbok
Together they are called:
삼복 — Sambok
and traditionally mark the hottest part of summer.
3. Korea Has Three Special Summer Days
Think of Sambok as three milestones through the hottest stretch of the Korean summer.
초복 — Chobok
The first Bok day.
중복 — Jungbok
The middle Bok day.
말복 — Malbok
The final Bok day.
The National Folk Museum explains that Chobok is determined by the third Gyeong day after the summer solstice, Jungbok by the fourth, and Malbok by the first Gyeong day after Ipchu, the traditional beginning of autumn.
So unlike Christmas or New Year's Day:
Boknal changes every year.
4. The 2026 Boknal Dates
For 2026, the dates were:
Chobok
July 15, 2026
Jungbok
July 25, 2026
Malbok
August 14, 2026
These dates were confirmed in Korean reporting throughout this summer.
And because today is August 16, this year's final Bok day was only two days ago.
So if you noticed Korean restaurants promoting samgyetang this week?
Now you know why.
5. 2026 Was Slightly Unusual
Normally, Bok days often appear at roughly ten-day intervals.
But in 2026:
Chobok → Jungbok = 10 days.
Jungbok → Malbok = 20 days.
This is called:
월복 — Wolbok
Korean reporting specifically noted that 2026 was a Wolbok year because of the twenty-day gap between Jungbok and Malbok.
You definitely do not need to memorize that as a tourist.
But it shows how deeply seasonal-calendar traditions are still woven into Korean food culture.
6. So Why Eat Something Hot When You're Already Hot?
Now we reach the key Korean expression:
이열치열 — Iyeolchiyeol
It is commonly understood as:
“Fight heat with heat.”
The idea is that instead of responding to extreme summer heat only with cold food, you eat something hot and nourishing to restore the energy you feel you have lost in the heat.
Korea Tourism Organization describes this “fight fire with fire” idea as central to the custom of eating samgyetang during Boknal.
This is a cultural food tradition rather than something tourists need to treat as medical advice.
7. Think About Korean Summer First
To understand the tradition, you need to experience a Korean summer.
It can be:
Hot.
Very humid.
Sticky.
Exhausting.
After walking outside for several hours, you may feel as if your energy has disappeared.
The traditional response was not simply:
“Cool the body.”
It was also:
“Restore the body.”
That is where the Korean concept of:
보양식 — Boyangsik
comes in.
8. What Is Boyangsik?
보양식
means something like:
Nourishing or restorative food.
It refers to foods culturally associated with maintaining or rebuilding strength.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute identifies samgyetang and chicken baeksuk as representative summer boyangsik, particularly associated with Boknal.
So when Koreans eat samgyetang in summer, they are not thinking only:
“This tastes good.”
There is also the cultural idea:
“I should eat something substantial because this heat is exhausting.”
9. Why Chicken?
Chicken provides a substantial meal without requiring complicated eating.
One bowl can contain:
A whole small chicken.
Rice.
Broth.
Garlic.
Ginseng.
Jujube.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute describes chicken-based dishes such as samgyetang and baeksuk as longstanding summer nourishment foods.
You eat one bowl and you are definitely not wondering:
“Where is the main course?”
The bowl is the entire event.
10. Why Ginseng?
The:
삼 — Sam
in samgyetang refers to:
인삼 — Insam
Ginseng.
Korean food culture has long associated ginseng with restorative or nourishing eating, which helped make it a signature ingredient in modern samgyetang.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute notes that the dish took its modern form as ginseng became more widely available and that today's samgyetang became common during the twentieth century.
11. Samgyetang Is Not Actually an Ancient Dish in Its Exact Modern Form
This is interesting.
People sometimes assume:
Traditional Korean food = unchanged for 500 years.
Not necessarily.
Chicken soup traditions are old.
Summer restorative eating is old.
But modern samgyetang as we recognize it today is more recent.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute explains that dishes resembling samgyetang appeared earlier, but today's whole-ginseng version became established mainly after the 1960s and grew more widely popular afterward.
So samgyetang is a great example of:
Tradition evolving into modern food culture.
12. It Was Once Called Gyesamtang
Another interesting detail.
The dish was once called:
계삼탕 — Gyesamtang
with the chicken emphasized first.
Later:
삼계탕 — Samgyetang
became the familiar name, placing more emphasis on the ginseng.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute connects this shift with the growing value and prominence of ginseng in the dish.
13. What Does One Bowl Look Like?
Your bowl arrives.
Inside:
One whole small chicken.
Do not panic.
The chicken is cooked until very tender.
Inside the chicken you will usually find glutinous rice.
You may also see:
Garlic
Jujube
Ginseng
Other herbs or ingredients
The broth itself is usually much milder than foreign visitors expect.
14. Samgyetang Usually Isn't Spicy
Many travelers arrive thinking:
Korean food = spicy red food.
Samgyetang destroys that assumption immediately.
The broth is usually:
Mild.
Savory.
Chicken-forward.
Herbal.
You often season it yourself with salt.
KTO specifically recommends adding salt according to taste while eating the soup.
15. How Do You Eat the Whole Chicken?
You do not need special skills.
Use your chopsticks to pull the meat away from the bone.
It should separate fairly easily.
You can:
Eat a little chicken.
Take some broth.
Eat the rice inside.
Add salt if desired.
Take some kimchi.
Return to the chicken.
There is no complicated ceremony.
16. The Rice Is Inside the Chicken
This surprises some visitors.
Cut or pull open the chicken and you may discover:
Sticky rice inside.
The rice has absorbed:
Chicken broth.
Ginseng flavor.
Garlic.
This makes it much richer than a separate bowl of plain rice.
Some restaurants may still provide additional rice or other accompaniments, but the stuffed rice is a signature feature of samgyetang.
17. What Do You Eat With It?
Usually something simple.
For example:
Kimchi.
Kkakdugi.
Salt.
Perhaps another small banchan.
The soup itself is already substantial.
You do not need fifteen side dishes.
And the sharper fermented flavors work well against the gentle chicken broth.
18. Some Restaurants Give You Ginseng Liquor
At certain samgyetang restaurants you may receive a small glass of:
인삼주 — Insamju
Ginseng liquor.
It may be served separately.
You do not have to drink it.
And if you do not consume alcohol:
simply leave it.
It is not necessary to complete the samgyetang experience.
19. There Are Many Versions Now
Modern samgyetang is not limited to one recipe.
KTO and the Korean Food Promotion Institute describe variants including:
Herbal samgyetang
Abalone samgyetang
Seafood versions
Perilla versions
Other premium variations.
So a menu may have several bowls at several prices.
20. What Is Ban-Gyetang?
If an entire chicken feels too large, you may sometimes find:
반계탕 — Ban-Gyetang
Essentially:
Half-chicken samgyetang.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute notes that half-chicken versions have become common for diners who find a full chicken too much.
This can be useful for smaller appetites.
21. Samgyetang Restaurants Become Extremely Busy on Boknal
This is where the cultural tradition becomes very visible.
On Chobok, Jungbok and Malbok:
Samgyetang restaurants can have long lines.
Yonhap reported crowds at samgyetang restaurants around the 2026 Boknal season and described the familiar scene of people eating steaming-hot chicken soup despite the intense summer heat.
So if you accidentally choose Chobok for your first samgyetang lunch:
Congratulations.
You picked the culturally correct day.
You also picked the day everyone else had the same idea.
22. Tourists Don't Need to Wait for Boknal
Important:
You can eat samgyetang throughout the year.
It is not like a holiday dish that disappears after August.
Restaurants specialize in it year-round, and KTO maintains listings for samgyetang restaurants that operate throughout the year.
Boknal is simply when the cultural connection is strongest.
23. It's Also Eaten When People Feel Run Down
The idea of restorative food extends beyond summer.
You may hear someone say they want samgyetang because they:
Feel tired.
Need energy.
Have been working too much.
Are recovering their appetite.
Again, this reflects Korean food culture and the idea of nourishment, rather than a claim that samgyetang is a medical treatment.
24. Korean Parents May Suggest It
Imagine telling a Korean parent:
“I've been exhausted lately.”
There is a decent chance the conversation eventually becomes about food.
Eat properly.
Get some soup.
Have something nourishing.
This connection between food and caring for someone's condition is a recurring part of Korean life.
Samgyetang fits perfectly into that world.
25. Boknal Isn't Only About Samgyetang
This is important.
Samgyetang is probably the most recognizable Boknal food today.
But it is not the only summer nourishing food.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute discusses other traditional summer foods including:
Chicken baeksuk
Eel
Croaker fish
Other regional restorative dishes.
So:
Boknal ≠ mandatory samgyetang day.
It is broader than that.
26. Chicken Baeksuk Is Closely Related
백숙 — Baeksuk
refers broadly to meat boiled without heavy seasoning.
Chicken baeksuk is closely connected with Korean summer food traditions.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute describes a longstanding custom of eating boiled chicken near valleys in summer, sometimes enjoying it outdoors beside cool mountain water.
This creates one of the most Korean summer combinations imaginable:
Feet in cold valley water.
Hot chicken on the table.
27. Hot Food and Cold Environment
This is actually a recurring Korean summer contrast.
Go to a mountain valley.
Sit somewhere cool.
Then eat:
A steaming pot of chicken.
That combination feels strange until you experience it.
The environment is cooling you.
The food is warming you.
That contrast is part of the experience.
28. But Koreans Also Eat Cold Food in Summer
Very important.
Do not misunderstand this article as:
“Koreans reject cold food in summer.”
Absolutely not.
Korean summer food also includes extremely cold dishes such as:
Naengmyeon
Makguksu
Kongguksu
Mulhoe
Bingsu
So Korea has both traditions:
Cool yourself with cold food
and:
Fight heat with heat
They coexist perfectly happily.
29. That Contradiction Is Actually Very Korean
Lunch:
Boiling samgyetang.
Afternoon:
Iced Americano.
Dinner:
Cold noodles.
Dessert:
Bingsu.
Nobody sees a problem.
Food culture does not need to follow one philosophical system all day.
30. What Is Iyeolchiyeol Really About?
Foreign visitors sometimes take the phrase too literally.
It is better understood as a cultural expression about facing summer heat with hot, nourishing food.
KTO describes the concept as eating hot dishes during the hottest period to regain energy, and samgyetang became its best-known food expression.
You do not have to believe:
“Hot soup is scientifically better than cold soup.”
That is not the point of understanding the culture.
The point is understanding why Koreans associate this food with summer.
31. Why Boknal Still Matters in Modern Korea
Modern Korea has:
Air conditioning.
Refrigerators.
Delivery apps.
Iced drinks everywhere.
Yet Boknal food traditions remain highly visible.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute has documented how samgyetang culture has adapted through home-meal replacements and convenient packaged versions, showing the tradition changing rather than simply disappearing.
That is important.
Traditions survive partly because they adapt.
32. You Can Buy Samgyetang at a Supermarket
Modern Koreans do not all spend hours stuffing chickens at home.
Packaged samgyetang is widely available.
Heat it.
Serve it.
Done.
The Korean Food Promotion Institute has documented the growth of ready-to-eat and home-meal-replacement versions of traditional nourishing foods.
So Boknal can be:
Traditional restaurant.
Family meal.
Or convenience-food dinner.
33. That's Modern Korean Food Culture
This is exactly the type of thing this blog should explain.
The interesting question is not:
“Is packaged samgyetang authentic?”
It is:
“How does an old seasonal custom survive in modern urban life?”
And the answer is:
It changes.
People still remember Boknal.
They still associate it with nourishing food.
But they may order delivery or heat a packaged version instead.
Culture evolves.
34. Should Tourists Try It?
Yes, especially if you want to understand Korean food beyond:
BBQ.
Fried chicken.
Street food.
Samgyetang gives you a different side of Korean eating.
It connects:
Food.
Season.
Health beliefs.
Family traditions.
Calendar customs.
And modern restaurant culture.
That makes it much more interesting than simply:
“Chicken soup.”
35. When Is the Best Time?
For the strongest cultural experience:
During summer.
If you happen to be in Korea around:
Chobok.
Jungbok.
Malbok.
even better.
But expect popular restaurants to be busier.
If you hate queues:
Go the day before or after.
You will still understand the food.
36. Search This Word
On Naver Map or KakaoMap, search:
삼계탕
You will find specialist restaurants.
You can also search:
백숙
for chicken baeksuk restaurants.
Do not automatically travel across Seoul because one place appears first in an English-language ranking.
There may be a good local restaurant much closer to you.
37. Famous Does Not Automatically Mean Necessary
Near Gyeongbokgung, Tosokchon Samgyetang is one of the best-known samgyetang restaurants for visitors and operates in a traditional hanok-style setting. KTO lists it as a specialty samgyetang restaurant near the palace.
It is famous.
But it is not the only place in Korea that knows how to boil a chicken.
A neighborhood samgyetang restaurant can be just as interesting.
38. What Should a First-Timer Order?
Simple:
삼계탕 하나 주세요.
“one samgyetang, please.”
If the restaurant offers many expensive premium versions:
You do not need to start with the most elaborate one.
Classic samgyetang is enough to understand the dish.
39. Useful Korean Words
Ginseng chicken soup
삼계탕
Chicken baeksuk
닭백숙
Nourishing food
보양식
Bok day
복날
Three Bok days
삼복
First Bok day
초복
Middle Bok day
중복
Final Bok day
말복
Fight heat with heat
이열치열
Ginseng
인삼
40. 2026 Quick Reference
This year:
초복 Chobok
July 15
중복 Jungbok
July 25
말복 Malbok
August 14.
If you are reading this in Korea in mid-August 2026:
You just missed Malbok by a few days.
But don't worry.
The samgyetang restaurants are still open.
What Tourists Usually Ask
“Why eat hot soup in hot weather?”
Because of Korea's iyeolchiyeol tradition and the cultural idea of restoring energy with nourishing food during the hottest season.
“Is samgyetang spicy?”
Usually no.
It is generally mild.
“Is that really a whole chicken?”
Yes.
Usually a small whole young chicken.
“Do I have to eat it only on Boknal?”
No.
It is available throughout the year.
“Do all Koreans eat samgyetang on Boknal?”
No.
It is a major tradition, not a compulsory national activity.
Other nourishing foods are eaten too.
“Should I try it in summer?”
If you want to understand the culture?
Definitely.
A Local's Final Tip
The first time you see Koreans lining up for boiling chicken soup in 35°C weather, your reaction may be:
“Why would anyone do this to themselves?”
Then you sit down.
The bubbling bowl arrives.
You pull apart the chicken.
The rice is inside.
You add a little salt.
Eat some kimchi.
And slowly the logic becomes clearer.
Samgyetang is not really about trying to make yourself hotter.
It is about a Korean idea that summer is something your body has to endure well.
And food is part of preparing yourself for that.
That is what:
보양식
and:
복날
are really about.
Sometimes Korean summer means:
Ice-cold naengmyeon.
Sometimes it means:
A giant iced Americano.
And sometimes, on one of the hottest days of the entire year, it means sitting in front of a boiling bowl of chicken soup.
Because in Korea:
Sometimes you fight heat with heat.
Welcome to Korea — from a local.
Comments
Post a Comment