Myeon (noodles)

짜장면 Jjajangmyeon

A Korean-Chinese dish of thick wheat noodles topped with a black bean sauce of pork and onion, mixed before eating.

Black Bean Sauce Noodles
Spice: Not spicy
Contains pork

Jjajangmyeon with thick black sauce over noodles, seen from above — AI-generated image

At a glance

Fact	Details
Main ingredients	Thick wheat noodles, black bean paste (chunjang), pork, onion
How it's served	A wide bowl of noodles with the sauce on top, served with yellow pickled radish, raw onion and chunjang
Spice level	Not spicy — No chili heat.
Diet	Contains pork — Pork is a standard ingredient.
Allergens	Wheat · Soy
Ask about	Seafood versions (samseon) add squid and shrimp; the sauce may contain oyster sauce.
On the menu	짜장면 (Jjajangmyeon)
Also called	jajangmyeon · jajangmyun · jjajangmyun · black bean noodles
Region	Nationwide

Based on the usual recipe. Restaurants vary, so always tell the staff.

How to eat Black Bean Sauce Noodles

Mix it right away
Stir the sauce through the noodles with chopsticks as soon as it arrives. If it sits, the noodles stick together.
Add chili flakes if you like
Chili flakes are often on the table for anyone who wants some heat. The sauce itself is not spicy.
Eat it with the side dishes
Between bites, take some yellow pickled radish, or raw onion dipped in chunjang.

How to order it

Order it as 짜장면. Some menus spell it 자장면, and it comes as a single bowl that one person can order alone.

On the menu: 짜장면
Usually sold: 1 serving

Where it comes from

It grew out of a noodle dish from Shandong, China, topped with fried bean paste. After Incheon's port opened in 1883, Chinese restaurants appeared there. One of them is known as the first in Korea to sell it. Chunjang, a fermented paste darkened with caramel, was developed in 1948. The dish became an everyday meal in the 1960s and 1970s.

Sources: Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (encykorea.aks.ac.kr) · Incheon Metropolitan City (eng-itour.incheon.go.kr)