What Is Jang? Korea's Fermented Sauces and Their UNESCO Status

Jang (장) is the family of fermented sauces, including soybean paste, soy sauce, and red chili paste, that UNESCO says forms the basis of the Korean diet. In 2024 UNESCO added Korean jang-making to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This post covers what jang is and the reasons UNESCO's Committee gave for inscribing it.

1. What "jang" means

UNESCO defines jang as fermented sauces, such as soybean paste, soy sauce, and red chili paste, that form the basis of the Korean diet. In Korean, the three best-known are:

The word jang is also part of each name: doen-jang, gan-jang, gochu-jang.

2. What the tradition covers

UNESCO describes the inscribed practice as the entire process of making, keeping, and eating jang: preparing the soybeans and other ingredients, ensuring the right conditions for fermentation, aging, and storage, and then using the sauces in food. Jang can be paired with vegetables, fish, and meat, and it can also be used to preserve food.

UNESCO also gives a nutritional reason jang matters. The essential amino acids produced during fermentation provide a critical nutritional balance to the rice-based Korean diet. Along with rice and kimchi, UNESCO says, jang sauces are at the heart of how Koreans eat.

3. Every family's jang tastes different

One of the most striking points in the UNESCO description is how personal jang is. Jang varies from one household to the next and is believed to embody each family's history and traditions. UNESCO's example: some families store aged soy sauce for decades so the taste of their food stays constant over time.

4. Who passes it on

According to UNESCO, jang-making is practiced and handed down mostly within families, primarily from mothers and mothers-in-law to their daughters and daughters-in-law. The Committee's decision notes that family members of all genders, ages, and social groups take part, with housewives at the center. Community groups, schools, and universities also contribute to transmission, and the decision says jang-making masters and community groups do too.

5. Health beliefs

The Committee's decision records that Koreans also maintain a strong belief in the health benefits of jang. UNESCO's own text points to a specific nutritional role: the essential amino acids produced during fermentation balance a diet built around rice. The decision also says communities prefer traditionally produced jang to mass-produced versions.

6. Rituals for good fermentation

Making jang is not only a kitchen technique. UNESCO notes that the tradition has produced related cultural practices, such as using amulets or holding rites to ensure successful fermentation and aging.

7. Why UNESCO inscribed it

The Intergovernmental Committee's decision, 19.COM 7.B.3, lays out its reasoning. A few points stand out:

• Identity and solidarity. Jang reflects the identity of a particular family and promotes solidarity among family members.
• Food security and farming. The Committee expected inscription to raise demand for jang and therefore soybeans, supporting soybean production, food security, and sustainable farming.
• Sustainable development. The Committee notes that the element has led to accessible online education materials, and that it supports sustainable development, including gender equality, environmental sustainability, and the economic development of the practicing communities. It adds that the communal act of making jang generates a sense of peace and belonging.
• Safeguarding. Existing measures include government subsidies for transmission, the title of "food master" for jang makers, jang-making in school curricula, and media awareness. The decision notes that communities prefer traditionally produced jang over mass-produced versions.
• Long preparation. Community members took part in the nomination process from 2016, including twelve jang-making "food masters," and the element was added to Korea's National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2018.

8. Key takeaways

• Jang are Korea's fermented sauces, including soybean paste (doenjang), soy sauce (ganjang), and red chili paste (gochujang).
• UNESCO inscribed jang-making on its Representative List in 2024.
• The tradition covers making, keeping, and eating jang, and fermentation adds amino acids that balance a rice-based diet.
• Jang tastes different in every household; some families age soy sauce for decades.
• Transmission happens mostly within families, supported by schools, communities, and "food master" jang makers.