Who is Tom: I'm Spider-Man!
Hi, I'm Tom Holland. Yes, that's right, the Spider-Man who flies between buildings and shoots webs in the Marvel movies! Born in England in 1996, I consider myself a pretty handsome actor. I'm famous for being a hero who saves the world, but my real weakness is actually delicious food. Especially pork belly that I met in Korea? It's something stronger than my superpower! Instead of resting at the hotel after filming, my hobby is to find a good restaurant, and pork belly is the food that really stole my heart. When Korean fans say, "Tom! Take a picture!", I'm rumored to reach for ssamjang before the camera, so please understand me.
When did Tom come into contact with pork belly: 2017, that fateful day
My relationship with pork belly started in 2017. It was when I first came to Seoul to promote *Spider-Man: Homecoming*. Fans welcomed me from the airport, and among them, someone shouted, “Tom! Try Korean food!” I said, “Okay, recommend something delicious!” and they all unanimously replied, “Samgyeopsal!” At first, I tilted my head, thinking, “Sam… what?” But that evening, somewhere in Seoul, I tasted samgyeopsal for the first time and my eyes really opened wide. The meat sizzling over charcoal, the smell of the fire, the unique taste of dipping it in ssamjang and wrapping it in lettuce! After one bite, I exclaimed, “What is this? This is really amazing!” I became so addicted to it that I joked that I couldn’t come to Korea without samgyeopsal. It was the moment when a new villain… no, hero, appeared in my life!
Tom’s samgyeopsal restaurant: A sizzling night at ‘Miss Yangban’
The place where I really got hooked on samgyeopsal was a restaurant called ‘Miss Yangban’ in Gangnam. The first day I went there, the smell of charcoal hit me as soon as I opened the door. I remember exclaiming, “My spider sense is going crazy! This is awesome!” as I heard the meat sizzling on the table. At first, I felt awkward wrapping ssam, so I put the meat on lettuce, put ssamjang on it, and dropped it, but after practicing a few times, I quickly mastered it with Spiderman-like sleight of hand. That night, after finishing three servings of samgyeopsal by myself, I asked, “Do you have any more?” and the look in my eyes from the table next to me was, “That guy is a real hero…” ‘Miss Yangban’ was the starting point of my love for samgyeopsal, and since then, it has become a sacred place that I always visit whenever I come to Korea.
‘Miss Yangban’ is
3Location: 123-45 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (virtual address)
Directions: 10 minutes on foot from Gangnam Station Exit 11, 7 minutes on foot from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 5
Opening hours: 4 PM ~ 1 AM (closed on Mondays)
Contact: 02-1234-5678 (virtual number, reservations recommended)
Menu:
Raw pork belly: 15,000 won (per person, charcoal grilled, basic side dishes included)
Kimchi stew: 25,000 won (spicy, goes well with pork belly)
Doenjang stew: 6,000 won (savory soup)
Characteristics: Strong charcoal-grilled aroma, clean and cozy Korean atmosphere, 20,000-30,000 won per person
Others: Reservations available, be careful of waiting from 6 PM to 8 PM, parking is limited (public transportation) Recommendation)
Tom's Love of Samgyeopsal: Just Tom in Front of Meat
To be honest, it's cool to shoot spider webs and climb buildings, but when it comes to samgyeopsal, I'm just an ordinary meat fanatic. Every time I come to Korea, a samgyeopsal restaurant tour becomes my secret mission. The love that started with 'Miss Yangban' has grown bigger and bigger, and now I'm exploring other restaurants. Once, in an interview, I said half-seriously and half-jokingly, "Please import samgyeopsal to the UK! Or should I move to Korea?", and the fans welcomed me with "Tom, come every day!". I even promised, "Next time, I'll eat it with soju," and when that day comes, I think I should really film a samgyeopsal mukbang. When I smell grilled meat, my hunger sensor goes off instead of my spider sense, so I'm just Tom in front of samgyeopsal, not a hero.
Tom's Promotion of Samgyeopsal: I want to let the world know!
When I posted a picture of me eating samgyeopsal on SNS, my fans liked it and said, "Tom, you're our meat evangelist!" Seriously, this taste is so good that I want to bring all the Marvel heroes and eat it together! I wish Korea’s love of samgyeopsal would become more famous because of me. Once, I wrote, “I’m going to Korea to eat samgyeopsal,” and foreign fans went crazy saying, “What’s that? I want to eat it too!” So I thought of something. What if I changed the title of my next movie to “Samgyeopsal: Far From Home”? Wouldn’t it be a huge hit if I included a scene where the Avengers team eats samgyeopsal wraps? My new mission is to spread this taste that I learned about thanks to Korean fans to the world. Do you want to come to Korea to eat samgyeopsal too?
This article is a fun story written based on objective data and the writer’s imagination.