TIMES MADIUN, JAKARTA – New Korean dishes appear now and then, and they often become very popular quickly all around the world, especially among the Korean drama fans. Gopchang or the grilled intestine is one of the most recent and most popular dishes which often appear in Korean drama series and was also introduced by one of if not the most popular bands from South Korea, BTS.

What is so special about this menu? We may have one of these during the barbecue in our backyards already.

Gopchang translates into animal intestines fat, with the “Go” that means animal fat. This food is indeed made from animal intestines, commonly from cattle or a pig. There are also some variants of it and it can be served fried or grilled. One can enjoy the grilled variant with any choice of sauce, like barbeque sauce, mayonnaise, chili sauce, et cetera. Gopchang can also be stir-fried with varieties of vegetables and spicy sauce.

Made from animal intestines, gopchang contains a high value of vitamins and zinc. It comes with a chewy and elastic texture, similar to grilled fat. Because of its rich taste and chewy texture, gopchang quickly becomes so popular that most people, especially Korean drama series fans put this one into their checklist of foods they need to try at least once in their lifetime.

In Korea, this food is commonly served with soju as a snack. People believe that gopchang helps to break down alcohol during the metabolism process. That’s why gopchang is such a popular midnight snack in Korea, because of the habit of Koreans who drink soju after work. It is the perfect choice of food to enjoy with a bottle of soju.

Quoted from LA Eater, gopchang already existed since the Joseon Dynasty, approximately the 14th century. This snack was considered healthy and one of the most delicious dishes favored not only by adults, but also the kids and elder people. According to Matthew Kangtold, there is not a single other food made mainly from offal that is as popular as the gopchang. He also confirms that gopchang reached this level of popularity from all around the globe thanks to BTS. “I’d never thought that a dish made from offal would be so popular, even if it gets promoted by BTS,” said Kangtold.

The promotion was carried out by Jin, one of BTS members during the offline concert with the title “Permission to Dance on Stage” at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles in 2021.

During an interview, Jin recommended Korean BBQ Ahgassi Gopchang in a restaurant in Los Angeles. Since then, lots of ARMY, the alias for the fans of BTS, came to that particular restaurant which leads to a crazy-long queue that requires you to wait for approximately 5 hours to enter. Today, gopchang still holds its popularity, and tourists often come to South Korea with the desire to get a bite of gopchang in mind. (*)