Sunchang-gun, Promotion of Traditional Fermented Soybean Industry through Starter Culture Supply

Gochang-gun, Jeonbuk Province, announced on the 16th that the Fermentation Microorganism Industry Promotion Foundation, located within the Sunchang Jangryu Special Zone, expects direct sales of over 1.2 billion KRW by supplying native Sunchang fermentation starter cultures necessary for food production to 24 domestic jangryu (fermented soybean paste) and vinegar manufacturers.

At the end of last year, it was selected as the only starter culture distribution institution nationwide in the 2023 Starter Culture Utilization Fermented Food Industry Support Project led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Sunchang-gun, Promotion of Traditional Fermented Soybean Industry through Starter Culture Distribution
[Photo by Sunchang-gun]

The Sunchang Fermentation Microorganism Industry Promotion Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the Microorganism Promotion Foundation) plans to supply native fermentation microorganisms (starter cultures) customized for domestic jangryu and vinegar manufacturing companies starting this year, aiming to improve quality as well as promote industrial and economic growth.

Although excellent domestic microbial resources exist, most fermentation microorganisms currently used in traditional Korean fermented foods (Makgeolli, jangryu, vinegar, etc.) are imported, posing an obstacle to the continuous development and status of traditional fermented foods.

In particular, domestic traditional fermented food manufacturers are mostly small-scale businesses relying on traditional natural fermentation, making quality stabilization difficult. Compared to large-scale factory-style jangryu manufacturers, they have lagged in industrial competitiveness, leading to continuous sales decline.

To address this, the Sunchang Microorganism Promotion Foundation and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plan to industrialize excellent native fermentation microorganisms and provide starter cultures free of charge to small-scale traditional fermented food manufacturers, along with technical support and consulting for starter culture utilization.

Chairman Choi Young-il (Gochang-gun Governor) said, “The value of the county’s excellent native fermentation microorganism resources is estimated to exceed 100 billion KRW when linked to industrialization. Based on these precious microbial resources, we will supply starter cultures to domestic fermented food companies to increase income and create a happy Sunchang for all residents.”

Meanwhile, the Microorganism Promotion Foundation possesses over 50,000 native fermentation microorganism strains, and its affiliated Fermentation Microorganism Industrialization Center is equipped with state-of-the-art starter culture production technology and facilities, making it recognized as the first specialized production institution capable of industrializing native fermentation microorganisms in Korea.

Sunchang = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Jeong Young-gwon baekok@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.