Pocheon Idong Galbi Maeul Village

Idong Galbi is a famous term for Korean representing the delicious hanu (Korean beef) short ribs that's been made with high quality meat and marinated sauce. Once the meat is prepared, it is usually marinated in sweet soy sauce and various other fruit juice for some days. The recipes could differ slightly for each restaurant, therefore serving as a barometer that differentiates one store's taste from another.

Nowadays, people can see signboards embedding "Idong Galbi" in many of establishments in Korea, however, the food was originated from Jangam-ri, Idong-myeon located in Pocheon of Gyeonggi-do. Now a huge town housing dozens of the galbi restaurants, this galbi-chon (or galbi village in English), only began with two stores in the early 1960s. 'Idong Galbi Jip (이동갈비집)' and 'Neutari Galbi (느타리갈비집)' were them, and after it earned the fame of becoming the 'local dish' of Pocheon, many more restaurants began to spring out.

The secret to Idong Galbi is that they are slowly cooked over charcoal fire and thus has an additional "fire taste" that many like, as well as the tenderness that even the old and young enjoy. Secondly, the sauce is made only with natural ingredients such as pear, radish, onions and others, making it especially tasty and luring people to come for more. Besides, Idong makgeolli (rice wine) is also a famous local product that complements well with the meal. These days, unfortunately due to cost issues, some restaurants can no longer use hanu to make galbi but American beef are used instead.