At a Korean BBQ restaurant, you put meat, garlic, and ssamjang on a lettuce leaf, and think, "How do I eat this?" Have you ever stopped like that? A foreign student once asked in surprise, "You put all of this in at once?" That has happened to me. ## The rule: eat a ssam in one bite Don't bite a ssam in half; put the whole thing in your mouth. The meat, vegetables, and ssamjang have to mix together in your mouth all at once to get the real flavor. When you take a bite, the filling can fall out, and the ssamjang sometimes gets on your hand. At first, try putting just one piece of meat and a little ssamjang on a single lettuce leaf. A size that fits neatly into your mouth is just right. ## Exception 1: Don't Make It Too Big Just because it's a single bite doesn't mean you should always wrap it big. If it's so big that your cheeks bulge, it's hard to eat and doesn't look good either. Especially when eating with elders, it's best to make a small wrap and eat slowly. Strongly scented vegetables like perilla leaves make the flavor strong even if you add just a little. ## Exception 2: A Ssam Wrapped for You by Someone Else This is the most interesting exception. In Korea, people sometimes wrap ssam for those close to them. Parents to their children, friends to their friends—they hold it out and say, "Here, ahh~" This is an expression of jeong (情), carrying the feeling of "Eat plenty, I want to take care of you." So when someone wraps a ssam for you, it's better to eat it in one bite than to politely refuse. If you do, the person who wrapped it for you will be truly happy.