On Sep 3. at a tonkatsu restaurant in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, a customer noticed that their pork tenderloin cutlet had a red center. When they raised the issue, commenting, “The meat looks undercooked,” the server assured them, “It’s cooked enough to eat.” Meanwhile, at another table, a customer’s cutlet appeared nearly raw, with red juices oozing from the meat.
The long-standing belief that pork must be fully cooked is gradually fading. Serving slightly undercooked pork—whether in tonkatsu, samgyeopsal (pork belly), or other dishes—is becoming increasingly trendy. In 2021, renowned restaurateur Paik Jong-won mentioned on a TV show, “Unlike in the past, pork no longer needs to be fully cooked. The best texture is achieved just before it’s done.” Since then, more restaurants have embraced serving pork with a pink center. At Jeju black pork restaurants, customers are encouraged to enjoy their pork rare, with the explanation that “it loses flavor when overcooked.”
However, this trend has sparked concern. On Aug 28., Dr. Sam Ghali, an emergency physician at the University of Florida Health Jacksonville, posted an alarming photo online. It showed a patient’s leg filled with cysts, resembling grains of rice, stretching from the femur to below the knee. A CT scan revealed a parasitic infection known as cysticercosis, caused by larval cysts of the tapeworm (Taenia solium). Dr. Ghali warned, “To avoid cysticercosis, never eat raw or undercooked pork.”
In South Korea, where pork consumption is among the highest in the world, many have raised concerns. Data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) showed that pork barbecue was the country’s most popular restaurant dish last year. Despite these concerns, the Korean Pork Producers Association reassured the public that “there is no risk of cysticercosis from eating undercooked domestic pork.” They emphasized that the days when pigs were fed human waste—a primary source of tapeworm infections—are long over, and today’s pigs are raised on safe, regulated feed. There hasn’t been a single case of cysticercosis from domestic pork since 1989, after South Korea, including Jeju Island, fully transitioned to feed-based farming.
Experts echo this sentiment, asserting that there is no risk of contracting cysticercosis from Korean pork. Dr. Seo Min, a parasitologist at Dankook University, explained, “While pigs in some parts of Latin America are still fed human waste, and cases have occurred in Australia, no such cases have been reported in Korea.”
Korea has a historical precedent for eating pork raw. On Jeju Island and in Jeolla-do, raw pork was traditionally consumed during feasts. Yang Yong-jin, director of the Institute for the Preservation of Jeju Traditional Food, explained, “In the past, during feasts in Jeju, the ‘dogam,’ a person responsible for cutting the pork, would share raw slices of pork neck, which has firm fat.” Though this custom has largely disappeared, some cuts, like pork loin or leg, are still served slightly undercooked for a softer texture.
Some restaurants continue this tradition today. Jangbu, a meat restaurant in Muan, Jeollanam-do, has been serving “pork yukhoe” (Korean-style raw meat) made from sow since 1968. The neck meat is seasoned with vegetables to give it a reddish hue. Kim Seok-jong, the restaurant’s owner, said, “In the past, we used to slice raw pork right after butchering and eat it with salt, or serve it as yukhoe.” Today, they only use domestic pork slaughtered the day before, with monthly inspections by the Korean Pork Producers Association. Another restaurant in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do, also serves pork yukhoe, but only at specific times.
Korea is not alone in its appreciation for raw pork. In Germany, they enjoy a dish called “Mettwurst,” which is raw minced pork sometimes shaped into a hedgehog figure with onions, known as “Mettigel.” When placed between slices of bread with onions, it becomes a sandwich called “Mettbrötchen.” The dish must be consumed the same day it is made, and its fat content is strictly regulated, and it cannot exceed 35%. In Thailand, a mukbang (eating show) trend has even emerged where people consume raw pork while drinking alcohol.
