Jeju’s black pigs have rooted around the volcanic island since the Goryeo dynasty, when nearly every household kept one as composter, pest control, and eventual dinner. South Korea protected the purebred as a heritage species in 2015, prizing its nutty, intensely marbled meat over imports like Ibérico, most often grilled as belly or simmered for hours into gomtang with Jeju radish and mushrooms.