What is the name of the Korean-style black bean sauce noodles?

The Korean-style black bean sauce noodles are called jjajangmyeon, also spelled jajangmyeon. The dish consists of wheat noodles topped with a dark, savory sauce usually made from fried chunjang, diced pork or another protein, and vegetables such as onion, cabbage, and zucchini.

Jjajangmyeon developed in Korea’s Chinese-restaurant community, especially around Incheon, after migrants from China’s Shandong region arrived in the late nineteenth century. It is related to the Chinese dish zhajiangmian, but the Korean version became sweeter, darker, and more heavily adapted to local tastes. Incheon’s Gonghwachun restaurant is closely associated with the dish’s early history and is now home to a Jajangmyeon Museum.

The name combines jajang, from the Chinese term for fried sauce, with myeon, meaning noodles. Jjajangmyeon is commonly served with yellow pickled radish and raw onion. It is also linked to South Korea’s Black Day, observed on April 14, when some unmarried people eat the dish.