I remember when it was just called 닭도리탕 and angry nationalist dudes were the only ones who called it weird, made-up names like 닭볶음탕 or 닭매운탕.

Said angry, nationalist dudes sometimes shouted at anyone who used the word. Even me, when I was just reading it off a menu. (Their shoutiness led me to suspect that it probably was just folk etymology, like some people said. People with solid proof don’t usually shout and insult… they don’t have to.)

But they won that culture battle and now my students all seem to call it 닭볶음탕…