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North eating more jjajangmyeon, other flour-based foods to counteract food shortages

Published: 15 Oct. 2025, 16:19

North Korean residents enjoy bowls of jjajangmyeon, or black bean noodles, at a restaurant in Changgwang Food Street, Pyongyang. [CHOSON SINBO]

As North Korea promotes flour-based foods to address its chronic food shortages, jjajangmyeon, or black bean noodles, is enjoying a surge in popularity.

According to a report by the Choson Sinbo, the newspaper of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (also known as Chongryon), residents in Pyongyang have been flocking to the “Jjajangmyeon House” located on Changgwang Food Street. The restaurant is considered a time-honored eatery, having been visited by both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-il in September 1985.

The paper described the restaurant’s noodles as “superior in taste, aroma and color compared to other jjajangmyeon eateries in Pyongyang.” Yu Geum-sun, the manager of the restaurant, told the Choson Sinbo that “interest in flour-based foods has grown significantly in recent years, leading to an increase in customer visits.”

North Korean jjajangmyeon differs significantly from the version commonly eaten in South Korea. While the South Korean version of jjajangmyeon is made with a thick, sweetened sauce using chunjang (black bean paste) and caramel, the North Korean variety is closer to the original Chinese-style dish, with a savory stir-fried doenjang (fermented soybean paste) as the base. The noodles are made not only with wheat flour, but also with starches from potatoes, buckwheat and other ingredients.

Dishes served at a restaurant in Changgwang Food Street, Pyongyang [CHOSON SINBO]

Promoting the consumption of flour-based foods like jjajangmyeon is not new in North Korea, where rice shortages are a longstanding issue. In November 2000, Kim Jong-il instructed officials during an inspection of Daehongdan County in Ryanggang Province — a major potato-producing region — to expand the cultivation of wheat and barley as well, so that residents could eat more jjajangmyeon.

His son, the current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, echoed that sentiment in a policy speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly in 2021, calling for efforts to “improve the people’s diet in a more civilized manner by ensuring the supply of white rice and wheat flour.” Since then, the regime has continued to focus on boosting flour production and encouraging flour-based meals.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]