[Caring the Korean Way] Sambok and samgyetang: beating the heat with tradition

What does it mean to care -- deeply, instinctively, and culturally?  In this series, "Caring the Korean Way," we explore the distinct practices, beliefs, and values that shape how Koreans care for themselves and each other. From time-honored folk remedies to modern reinterpretations of healing, each story offers a window into the unique ways care is expressed in Korean life. -- Ed.

In Korea, the very hottest stretch of summer is known as sambok  – roughly translated as the three specific days of scorching summer heat, chobok (the first), jungbok (the middle), and malbok (the last) – which usually fall between mid-July and mid-August based on the lunar calendar. The term bok literally means “to lie flat,” evoking the image of someone or even a dog sprawled on the ground in the oppressive heat.

For centuries, sambok has marked more than just high temperatures. It has long been a seasonal milestone intertwined with Korea’s agrarian history, when farmers endured stifling weather in hopes of a good harvest.

To cope, Korean people developed a distinctive tradition: eating hot steaming foods.

At the heart of sambok is the ritual of eating samgyetang, a ginseng chicken soup believed to restore stamina drained by midsummer heat.

On each of the three bok days, restaurants famous for this bubbling broth are packed with patrons willing to sweat for their supper.

It’s a communal ritual where office workers might venture out together at lunch, families might queue at a favorite shop, all to partake in a traditional stamina meal meant to fortify the body against the heat.

While samgyetang reigns supreme, other traditional boknal foods also have their devotees. Chueotang (mudfish soup) and yeolmu kimchi noodles are also consumed for their revitalizing properties.

Historically, bosintang, dog meat soup, was once common during sambok, but shifting public sentiment and legal debates have led to its decline.

Today, most Koreans turn to chicken, not just for tradition’s sake but because of its comforting taste and cultural familiarity.

This custom reflects the Korean saying “i-yeol-chi-yeol,” meaning to fight heat with heat.

Rather than cooling the body with cold foods, Koreans have long believed that eating hot, energetically warming dishes helps correct internal imbalances caused by external heat.

“When temperatures soar, internal organs cool relatively, weakening digestion and immunity,” explains Kim Seok-hee, a spokesperson for the Association of Korean Medicine, to Korea Biomedical Review. “This imbalance can lead to symptoms like indigestion, fatigue, and even summer colds or diarrhea.”

“Chicken, for example, is a warm-natured food in oriental medicine,” Kim explains. “That’s why eating chicken soup in summer helps the body realign with its environment.”

Also, samgyetang uses various warm-natured herbs, such as ginseng and ginger, which are chosen not just for flavor but for their therapeutic properties, Kim added.

Taken together, Kim stressed that the Korea’s warm chicken soup replenishes energy and strengthen resilience against seasonal fatigue.

While internal medicine doctors decline to comment on the matter, Western medicine also offers a complementary view of this practice.

Experts explain that eating hot foods raises the body’s core temperature, which triggers sweating – the body’s natural cooling mechanism.

As sweat evaporates, it removes heat from the skin’s surface, lowering overall body temperature.

This physiological response is well documented in medical literature, including Guyton and Hall’s Textbook of Medical Physiology, which describes sweating as the body’s primary heat-regulating process.

Beyond the physiological benefits, the tradition of eating hot soup on hot days has a cultural and psychological payoff. There’s something oddly satisfying about sitting around a table, everyone glistening with sweat, enjoying the same seasonal ritual.

At the end of the meal, when you’ve sweated out the fatigue and feel light and revived, there’s only one thing to say: “shiwonhada,” a term that conveys a uniquely Korean sense of refreshment and relief after feeling physically recharged or revitalized.

Now that’s refreshment, Korean style.