Survey: 91.3% of Chinese respondents enjoy red pepper paste

Gochujang, Korean hot red pepper paste, is popular in China, too. Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited Korea in July this year, purchased gochujang at the Dongdaemun market in Seoul, Chinese interest in gochujang is increasing.

The Chinese have their own type of hot red pepper sauce. The so-called “lajang” is a Chinese-style gochujang with ground hot red pepper seeds, hot red peppers and garlic, etc in hot red pepper oil, which is mostly used in stir-fries. The Chinese also put it on steamed rice or for sauce in beef and vegetable hot pots like with Korean-style gochujang. Given the Chinese are familiar with gochujang, the Korean gochujang’s opportunity to expand sales is highly anticipated.

In a survey by the Korean Rural Development Administration of Chinese consumers’ awareness and attitude towards gochujang on 1,600 men and women between the ages of 25 and 59 in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao, 91.3 percent of the respondents said they had purchased (Korean or Chinese) hot red pepper paste. The survey showed they purchased gochujang an annual average of 10.96 times.

When asked what country came to mind at the mention of gochujang, they cited Korea (53.0 percent) and China (41.0 percent) Yet they bought more Chinese gochujang (70.7 percent multiple answers) than Korean (58.9 percent).

The reason they gave for buying Chinese was that Chinese gochujang was more diverse with many products, because they suited Chinese tastes better, Chinese gochujang was easily available in stores, and due to its being cheap.

On the other hand, respondents who said they buy Korean-made gochujang said that Korean gochujang was safe and high-quality.

The respondents said they got to know about Korean gochujang through mainly Korean TV dramas and Korean restaurants saying that they recalled actors in Korean TV dramas relishing spicy food while sweating. Yet a drawback was that almost none of the respondents used gochujang on their own home cooking. Although they had eaten in Korean restaurants, they said they do not know how to make the cuisine and therefore do not think about cooking such dishes at home.

They scored the taste of gochujang at an average of 87.5 out of 100. Quite a few said Korean gochujang had various flavors in addition to spiciness, including sweetness and saltiness, which made the sauce addictive.

Some also said Korean gochujang tasted fresher and milder than Chinese gochujang as there were no hot red pepper oil or hot red pepper seeds.

Kim Jae-hyeon, fermented foods department chief at the Rural Development Administration, said the spicy flavor, which young people in Sichuan enjoyed, has spread to other regions, which is pushing up demand for gochujang. He said exports of gochujang need to be expanded by proactively proposing to the Chinese public easy-to-make cuisine using Korean gochujang.