[News Terms] Humanity's Intangible Cultural Heritage 'Jang Damgeugi Culture' is the 'Aesthetics of Waiting'

The 'Korean Jang (醬) Making Culture' (Knowledge, beliefs and practices related to jang-making in the Republic of Korea), which involves fermenting soybeans to make doenjang and ganjang, has been inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. This is the 23rd such inscription for South Korea. The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage recognized Korean jang as a core element of the Korean diet alongside rice and kimchi. The jang-making culture encompasses not only the food itself but also the entire process of managing, utilizing, and passing down the techniques and beliefs involved. The committee evaluated that "the communal act of jang-making fosters peace and a sense of belonging within the related communities."

Jang serves as a fundamental seasoning that forms the basis of Korean cuisine. In times when various seasonings were unavailable, jang varieties such as ganjang and doenjang were vital food resources that sustained a household’s diet throughout the year. Depending on the fermentation or aging method, jang takes forms such as ganjang, doenjang, and gochujang.

Korean jang culture is valued for its aspect of the "aesthetics of waiting." After boiling and mashing soybeans, they are shaped into blocks called meju, which are then tied with rice straw and fermented and dried at an appropriate temperature for at least three months. Using meju, two types of jang?ganjang and doenjang?are made, and the unique Korean practice involves adding new jang to leftover seed ganjang from the previous year.

When was jang first made? Records of jang appear in the Samguk Sagi, written by Kim Bu-sik during the reign of King Injong of Goryeo. Jang appears as part of the pyebaek (post-wedding ceremony) food when King Sinmun married the daughter of Ilgilchan Kim Heum-un. During the Goryeo period, jang was distributed as an emergency food for starving people during the reigns of Kings Hyeonjong and Munjong.

In the Joseon Dynasty, methods of jang-making were passed down and recipes and techniques developed regionally, resulting in a variety of jang. Several historical texts, including Guhwangseopyo, document doenjang production methods. Notably, jang-making became an important cultural act within communities. Choosing auspicious days for jang-making, floating charcoal or chili peppers in the jang to ward off bad spirits, drawing geumjul (sacred lines) around jang jars, or attaching socks upside down to prevent misfortune are cultural practices associated with jang-making.

Managing jang was also considered important. In Bingheogak Lee’s 'Gyuhap Chongseo,' it is advised that jang jars should be cleaned twice daily with a cloth to maintain good taste. After making jang, it was customary to avoid visiting households with recent bereavement and to keep strangers away until 21 days had passed. Seo Yu-gu’s 'Imwon Gyeongjeji' provides detailed instructions on constructing and managing jang jar stands, advising against planting fruit trees nearby and placing jang jars too close to walls to prevent damage if walls collapse.

The industrialization of jang began during the Japanese colonial period, after the 1876 Ganghwa Treaty and the 1884 Gapsin Coup, in areas where Japanese people resided such as Busan, Incheon, and Gyeongseong (Seoul). The first small-scale jang factory was established by Japanese in 1886 in Sinchang-dong, Busan, producing ganjang and doenjang. After liberation, Koreans took over factories previously operated by Japanese and continued production.

Economic benefits are also expected following the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription. Last year, exports of traditional Korean sauces, including jang, reached $384 million, a record high. Gochujang exports surpassed $50 million for the first time in 2020 and increased by 17.8% last year to $61.92 million.

Meanwhile, UNESCO operates the Intangible Cultural Heritage system to widely promote the importance of intangible heritage as a source of cultural diversity and to foster national and international cooperation and support for its protection. South Korea’s intangible cultural heritage includes 23 items, starting with 'Jongmyo Jerye and Jongmyo Jeryeak' (2001), followed by Pansori, Gangneung Danoje, Ganggangsullae, Arirang, Jeju Haenyeo culture, Yeondeunghoe, Hansan Mosi weaving, Kimchi and Kimjang culture, Korean mask dance, and others. In 2026, Korea will challenge for inscription of the 'Traditional knowledge, techniques, and cultural practices of Hanji (Korean paper) making.'