Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Korean Culture and Information Service

Gimbap is Korean soul food and a picnic essential. / Courtesy of gettyimagesbank 

If you’re a fan of the Korean drama, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” you probably noticed what Woo Young-woo, played by actor Park Eun-bin, eats every day.

She has gimbap three times per day and almost nothing else. In the ENA series, Woo packs her own lunch and refuses to eat in her law firm’s cafeteria. For a compulsory hoesik (dinner and drinks after work), she orders a pack of premium gimbap.

“Gimbap is reliable. I can see all the ingredients, so I will not be alarmed by unexpected textures or flavors,” Woo explains.

Even its name is upfront; the main ingredients are gim (a sheet of dried seaweed, or laver) wrapped around bap (rice). Convenient and easy to eat, Koreans have long considered gimbap soul food that’s perfect for sack lunches and picnics. The typical fillings rolled up by the ubiquitous gimbap franchises are white rice, fried egg, ham, carrots, spinach, cucumbers and yellow pickled radishes.

There are many theories about the origin of gimbap. However, the beginnings of cooked rice wrapped in laver can be traced as far back as the early Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), when people called it bokssam. The term gimbap was first used by a newspaper in 1935. 

Some people refer to gimbap as “Korean sushi” and often confuse the two, but there are clear differences with Japan’s seaweed rice rolls, called norimaki or hutomaki.

Gimbap is mostly stuffed with cooked ingredients, whereas norimaki is usually filled with raw seafood. Gimbap is usually seasoned with sesame oil and salt, while norimaki is seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar and salt. 

Gimbap is also different from California rolls, which contain laver inside and rice outside and are believed to have been developed in Canada in the 1970s for Westerners who were unaccustomed to eating seaweed.

Chungmu gimbap, finger-size rolls of plain rice wrapped with laver that are served with seasoned squid and radish kimchi / Courtesy of gettyimagesbank

Gimbap comes in various shapes, sizes and tastes, depending on the fillings. Today, people have gotten creative with gimbap fillings, incorporating nuts, pork cutlet, bulgogi, tuna, cheese, cream cheese and spicy dried squid. 

Gimbap also changes according to local sensibilities. For example, chungmu gimbap hails from the coastal town now known as Tongyeong in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Its finger-sized rolls of plain rice wrapped in laver are usually served with radish kimchi and squid seasoned with vinegar and red pepper. 

A few examples of modern-style gimbap include keto gimbap for those on a ketogenic diet. It uses thinly shredded fried eggs in place of rice and has boiled carrots in the center of the roll. 

Lately, folded gimbap tutorials for a new version of triangle gimbap have gone viral. The recipe even appeared in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” when a friend fixes it for her. It is much easier to make than classic gimbap: Cut a slit from the middle of one side of a laver sheet to its center, then evenly spread a different filling atop each quarter section. Simply fold each quarter, one on top the other, and enjoy it like a sandwich. Just be sure to start folding upward from one of the quarters adjacent to the slit. 

Gimbap mostly runs 3,500 won to 5,000 won per roll at one of the franchises, but fancier restaurants can charge around 16,000 won.

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