I Tried the Viral Dong Geu-Rami Kimbap from My Favorite K-Drama — And Now I Get the Hype

The hottest Korean drama on Netflix right now is Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Seriously. Every week, everyone I know — from relatives in Seoul and friends in Brooklyn, to members of the boy band BTS, and people I follow on social media — seems to count down the minutes until they can watch the next two episodes. The cult show centers on the trials and tribulations of Woo Young-woo as she navigates her first year at one of Seoul’s top law firms as a newbie lawyer and woman on the autism spectrum. Fans will know Young-woo really loves three things: law, whales, and, last but not least, kimbap.

Enter: the Dong Geu Rami kimbap, named after Yong-woo’s best friend. Dong Geu Rami prepares the dish not in the traditional rolled sense, but rather one where each filling is neatly loaded into a quadrant atop the seaweed sheet before being folded up like a sandwich. While Young-woo is a bit uncomfortable to stray away from routine, it’s not long until she gives into the odd deliciousness of the remixed dish.

In real life, the Dong Geu Rami kimbap blew up on TikTok. And as someone who loves the show and whose profession revolves around recipes, it felt kismet. I knew I had to give it a try.  

Most videos I’ve seen are pretty loose with instructions and amounts. But here are the basics of how to prepare Dong Geu Rami kimbap. Keep in mind, it can easily scale up.

First, mix rice with sesame oil. Fry one egg, then fry chopped kimchi with butter and a sprinkle of granulated sugar.

Make a slit down the middle of the bottom half of the roasted seaweed sheet using kitchen scissors. Spread rice evenly over the bottom two quadrants of the seaweed sheet. Then add the fried egg and fried kimchi on the top left and right quadrants, respectively. Starting at six o’clock (the right rice quadrant), fold the sheet up. Then fold it across clockwise then down, landing on the second rice quadrant. Gently press on the entire kimbap to seal. 

Kimchi and a fried egg can make anything better, regardless of the vehicle — this much I already knew. And yet, I was genuinely shocked by this simple kimbap. What I loved the most was how it made me develop a newfound appreciation for fried kimchi. Cooking kimchi in a super hot pan with a smidge of butter and a little sugar provides a one-two punch of nutty sweetness, and the entire dish is made better by it. 

Dong Geu Rami’s specialty is clever and easy, like the tortilla hack seen all over TikTok. In fact, the viral sensations are one in the same when it comes to technique. Make a slit on the wrapper, spread fillings, fold, and serve. All in all, this kimbap is bound to impress any friend, even if they’re not a kimbap-loving, walking-whale-encyclopedia of a brilliant lawyer named Woo Young-woo. 

1. Use the ingredients you have. The union of fried egg and kimchi is elite, but it’s not the only combo you can add into this folded kimbap. Add a slice of melty cheese, or doctor up the fried kimchi with canned tuna. For ultimate breakfast vibes, you can (and should) tuck in a piece of fried Spam. Run out of kimchi? (Don’t tell your Korean mom or dad — your secret is safe with me.) You can always substitute another pan-fried veg. Say, onion, pickled Peppadew peppers, or garlicky mushrooms. No fresh rice? Bust out that frozen fried rice! 
2. Evenly spread out the rice. Warm, sticky rice that’s well-spread will hold everything together but it further ensures consistency with every kimbap layer.