Bulgogi came from the Korean word bul-gogi (불고기), consisting of bul ("fire") and gogi ("meat"). The compound word is derived from the Pyongan dialect, as the dish itself is a delicacy of Pyongan Province (currently in North Korea).[4] After the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese forced occupation in 1945, the dish became popular in Seoul and other parts of South Korea, by refugees from Pyongan.[5] It was then listed in the 1947 edition of the Dictionary of the Korean Language, as meat grilled directly over a charcoal fire.[6]
In the Standard Korean Language Dictionary published by the National Institute of Korean Language, the word is listed as meat such as beef that is thinly sliced, marinated, and grilled over the fire.[7] The word is also included in English-language dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Oxford Dictionary of English.[8][2] Merriam-Webster dated the word's appearance in the American English lexicon at 1961.[8] History Bulgogi is believed to have originated during the Goguryeo era (37 BCE–668 CE), when it was originally called maekjeok (맥적, 貊炙), with the beef being grilled on a skewer.[9][10] It was called neobiani (너비아니), meaning "thinly spread" meat,[11] during the Joseon Dynasty and was traditionally prepared especially for the wealthy and the nobility.[12] In the medieval Korean history book Donggooksesi (동국세시), bulgogi is recorded under the name yeomjeok (염적), which means 'fire meat'. It was grilled barbecue-style on a hwaro grill on skewers, in pieces approximately 0.5 cm thick. Although it is no longer cooked skewered, this original type of bulgogi is today called bulgogi sanjeok (불고기 산적).