FORKARIUMPETTY COURT
FORKARIUM

CASE #004: The Black Bean Spelling

Is the Korean black bean noodle dish spelled 짜장면 or 자장면?

The parties are fictional. The evidence is real.

VERIFIED FACTS

Every sentence here links to an official source you can open.

The verdict

NOT GUILTY

Both are correct. The Standard Korean Dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language lists 짜장면 (jjajangmyeon) as the same word as 자장면 (jajangmyeon). 짜장면 became standard on August 31, 2011, when the institute announced 39 new standard words.[1, 2]

2 official sources: National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), 새국어생활Checked Oct 29, 2026

The evidence

A bowl of Korean black bean noodles with metal chopsticks and a blank order slip

Exhibit A

The Standard Korean Dictionary lists 짜장면 as a headword meaning the same as 자장면.

Exhibit B

The National Institute of Korean Language announced new standard words on August 31, 2011.

Exhibit C

That announcement covered 39 standard words, and editors could finally print 짜장면.

Questions people ask

When did 짜장면 become a standard word?

On August 31, 2011, when the National Institute of Korean Language announced its new standard words.

Is 자장면 now wrong?

No. The Standard Korean Dictionary treats the two as the same word, so both are standard.

DRAMATIZATION

This part is made up for fun. Names, people and events are fictional.

The case

A strict senior with a red pen and a grinning junior lifting black bean noodles
PlaintiffThe Senior With the Red Pen
DefendantThe Junior Who Ordered

Timeline

  1. Fri 11:52 AMThe team lunch order goes around the office.
  2. 11:54 AMThe defendant writes 짜장면 eleven times.
  3. 11:55 AMThe plaintiff circles all eleven in red.
  4. 12:31 PMThe noodles arrive. They get cold during the argument.

The claims

Plaintiff: The Senior With the Red Pen

Write it properly. It is 자장면.

Defendant: The Junior Who Ordered

Nobody has ever said 자장면 out loud at a lunch table.

A pug judge in a powdered wig presides over a lunch order dispute, with a bowl of black bean noodles as evidence

The court's sentence

NOT GUILTY. BOTH SPELLINGS STAND.

SentenceThe red pen is confiscated. The plaintiff buys sweet and sour pork for the team and may pour the sauce or dip it, as the court has no jurisdiction over that one.

Sources

  1. Source 1

    National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원)

    표준국어대사전: 짜장면

    stdict.korean.go.kr/search/searchResult.do?pageSize=10&searchKeyword=%EC%A7%9C%EC%9E%A5%EB%A9%B4

    Published Oct 29, 2026Checked Oct 29, 2026

    짜장면 ... 중국요리의 하나. 고기와 채소를 넣어 볶은 중국 된장에 국수를 비벼 먹는다. ... =자장면.
  2. Source 2

    National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), 새국어생활

    우리말과 표준어 사이(특집: 복수 표준어 확대에 대한 각계의 의견), 새국어생활 제21권 제4호

    www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/2011_4/2011_0406.pdf

    Published 2011Checked Oct 29, 2026

    2011년 8월 31일 국립국어원에서 발표한 새 표준어 관련 규정은 일단 반가운 소식으로 다가온다. ... 편집자들은 이제 당당히 '맨날', '짜장면'을 외칠 수 있게 되었다. 하지만 나는 39개의 표준어 인정에 모두 동의하지는 않는다.
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