The traditional Korean ingredient ‘jang’ captivates chefs from around the world

[Anchor]

The K-food craze around the world is truly remarkable.

Famous chefs from abroad visiting Korea have become deeply fascinated with our traditional ingredients such as doen-jang, gan-jang, and gochu-jang.

Reporter Park Min-cheol has the story.

[Report]

Doen-jang, gan-jang, and gochu-jang, are the roots of Korean cuisine.

There are various kinds of 'jang', from the freshly made to those made with meat and fish.

While Koreans are familiar with 'jang', it is somewhat foreign to foreigners.

[Park Seong-bae/Chef : "In the case of gan-jang (soy sauce), the older it gets, the more it becomes 'gam-jang,' using the character 'gam', meaning "sweet". It has a very sweet taste. So it is often used as medicinal gan-jang as well."]

Although Korean cuisine is capturing the taste buds of people around the world, the reality is that there still is a barrier to the truely traditional Korean ingredients like the 'jang'.

To overcome this, the government and the Korea Food Promotion Institution invited famous chefs and media representatives from various countries.

The aim was to broaden the base of Korean cuisine by introducing the culture of Korean 'jang' and various dishes using the 'jang', which made the chefs focused on the unique flavors of jang.

[Jorge Vallejo/Mexican Chef: "It's been super interesting to get to know how it's the process of making the different types of 'jangs'. I think it's something that I will bring back home and try to adapt to the way I cook."]

Famous chefs of Korea also joined in promoting the Korean jang.

They believe that when the most traditional Korean ingredients are recognized worldwide, the future of Korean cuisine will also be sustainable.

[Kang Min-goo/Chef: "When each type of 'jang' meets the ingredients, and is cooked, the sweetness, umami, and savory flavors are amplified in the dish, enhancing the taste of the ingredients."]

The government plans to focus on promoting Korean cuisine to ensure that 'Korean jang-making culture' can be registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in December.

This is KBS News, Park Min-cheol.