The story
Jjajangmyeon traces back to Chinese labourers, many from Shandong, who came to work at Incheon's port after it opened in 1883. They brought zhajiangmian, noodles with fried bean paste, and Korean-Chinese cooks adapted it with a sweeter black chunjang sauce, onions and pork. Gonghwachun, a restaurant opened in Incheon's Chinatown around 1905 by the Shandong migrant Woo Hee-gwang, is credited with being the first to sell it. Cheap and filling, it became Korea's favourite delivery meal, and the old Gonghwachun building now houses the Jjajangmyeon Museum.
Rival claims
The dish is adapted from Shandong's zhajiangmian in China, but as the Korean-Chinese dish jjajangmyeon there is no serious rival to Incheon's Chinatown and the Gonghwachun restaurant.
Also known as jajangmyeon, jajangmyun, black bean noodles, zhajiangmian.
On the Meridish menu
Jjajangmyeon was the rice & noodles course on menu No. 4 on October 4, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Noodles in a glossy black bean sauce, created by Chinese immigrants in this port city's Chinatown.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- eng-itour.incheon.go.kr/cmn/board/BBSMSTR_000000000080/3725bbsDetail.do
- icjg.go.kr/eng/cttu0207a03
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jajangmyeon
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
