In order to interface with incoming food culture from around the globe and protect Korean traditional foods, especially Korean fermented foods, the subject of Korean jangryu is researched by comparing it with the study of jangryu in Sunchang, which is...
In order to interface with incoming food culture from around the globe and protect Korean traditional foods, especially Korean fermented foods, the subject of Korean jangryu is researched by comparing it with the study of jangryu in Sunchang, which is well known nation-wide for gochujang.
Korean food culture has three characteristics. First, a bowl of rice or grains is necessary for a meal and it is complemented by side dishes. Furthermore, Korean people utilize ondol, a traditional under floor heating system that is very useful for making fermented foods because it heats the floor directly and stimulates fermentation. Also, in the past Korean people thought of food just the same as medicine, so doctors during the Joseon Dynasty prescribed some foods with gochujang for patients with abdominal pain and other symptoms.
In this study, the history of Korean jangryu is categorized into the periods before and after the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty. The results show that, as found in old Chinese books, jangryu prior to the Joseon Dynasty was made and taken by the people in Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla and Goryeo Dynasty. After the Joseon Dynasty was established, jangryu was developed and flourished. Many kinds of jangryu using a variety of methods and materials have been discovered. Some of these are doenjang, gochujang, and jeubjang which are described in old Korean diaries and encyclopedia as sangayorok, jeungbosanrymgyeongje, imwongyeongjeji and joseonyoribeob.
In comparison with Korean jangryu, research shows that Sunchang jangryu, especially gochujang, is deemed to be more extraordinary than the jangryu of other regions in Korea. Jangryu in Sunchang has a special oral history. Lee Sung Gye, first king of the Joseon Dynasty, was fascinated with gochujang when staying in Mt. Hoimun. Before being approved as king, he prayed to the mountain guard in Sunchang to be made king. Furthermore, several old books such as Somunsaseol, Ojuyeonmunjangjeonsango, and Gyuhapchongseo state that Sunchang gochujang is the best gochujang in the world.
In the modern generation of producing jangryu in Sunchang, there are several steps in the industry progress. These include commencing, building, advancing, and settling periods. In addition, after 2004 when Sunchang was adopted as a special jangryu economiczone, it developed as a center for production in the first surging step, then the second surging step from 2010 until the present. In the last step, Sunchang was chosen to be a Korean Traditional Fermentation Cultural Industrial District. This history of Sunchang jangryu in Joseon and modern times mean that jangryu and the jangryu industry in Sunchang have evolved from the past until now, step by step.
The study results found that Sunchang janryu is distinct from others. This is because of its geographical and climatic environment, the agricultural crops(red pepper, soybeans, etc. produced under contract, ingredients or resources for jangryu products as well as the people who make the products and the time and method that make authentic Sunchang jangryu.