[6] The dish is often part of a packed meal, or dosirak, to be eaten at picnics and outdoor events, and can serve as a light lunch along with danmuji (yellow pickled radish) and kimchi.

The two words were used interchangeably until gimbap was made the universal term, as part of efforts to clear away remnants of Japanese colonialism and purify the Korean language.

[2][11][12][13] Since then, gimbap has become a distinct dish, often utilizing traditional Korean flavors, as well as sesame oil, instead of rice vinegar.

[8] An alternative theory, suggested in the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, published by the Academy of Korean Studies, is that the food was developed from the long-established local tradition of rolling bap (cooked rice) and banchan (side dishes) in gim.

[18][19] Yŏryang Sesigi (열양세시기), a Joseon book written in 1819 by Kim Mae-sun [ko] (김매순; 金邁淳), refers to cooked rice and filling rolled with gim as bokssam (복쌈; transcribed using the hanja 縛占, pronounced bakjeom in Korean).

[22] Popular ingredients include danmuji (yellow pickled radish), ham, beef, imitation crab meat, egg strips, kimchi, bulgogi, spinach, carrot, burdock root, cucumber, canned tuna, or kkaennip (perilla leaves).

The toasted gim is then laid on a gimbal—a bamboo gimbap roller—with a thin layer of cooked rice placed evenly on top.