The History of Soybeans: From Korea to the World

Green flesh black bean,-a black-soybean-variety loved in Korea

One of the soybeans most loved by Koreans, Green flesh black bean (a variety of black soybean)

Introduction: Why Is the Soybean Important?

Hello, dear readers! Today, I would like to share with you a story about soybeans — a key ingredient in Korean cuisine and a food enjoyed by people all around the world. Since I am not an expert on soybeans, I will simply introduce some well-known facts in a concise manner. So then, let us begin!

Today, no matter where you go in the world, you can easily find foods made from soybeans. From Asian staples such as tofu, soy sauce, and doenjang to Western uses like soybean oil, soy protein–based meat substitutes, and soy milk, soybeans appear widely across cuisines. For this reason, the soybean is a food ingredient shared by people around the globe.

Yet there is a fact many do not know: the soybean’s place of origin is the Korean Peninsula and southern Manchuria. In other words, the roots of the soybeans people enjoy today trace back to Korean lands. According to research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), roughly 72–74% of the soybean varieties grown in the United States descend from seeds collected in the Korean Peninsula and southern Manchuria. This finding indicates that the Korean Peninsula was a central origin and starting point for the world’s soybean culture.

This article examines the historical and scholarly evidence that Korea is the soybean’s origin, explores the role soybeans play on the Korean table and in Korean culture, and highlights contemporary efforts to restore seed sovereignty.

1.The Origin of the Soybean — The Korean Peninsula and Manchuria as the Roots of the World’s Soy Culture

Archaeological Evidence and Historical Records

The history of soybean cultivation goes back as far as 5,000 years. Archaeological traces show that soybean cultivation was practiced from the Neolithic period in southern Manchuria centered around Mount Baekdu and across the Korean Peninsula. By the early Bronze Age (around 1500 BCE), soybeans were already widely used as food, making them an important dietary resource for the Korean people.

Although ancient Chinese records also mention soybeans, an interesting point is that the Chinese referred to them as “rōng-shū” (戎菽), where the character rōng (戎) denotes “barbarian” or “non-Chinese.” This suggests that the Chinese perceived soybeans not as their own domestic crop but as a crop cultivated by neighboring northern peoples—namely the peoples of the Korean Peninsula—which indirectly supports the view that the Korean Peninsula is a center of origin for the soybean.

Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Its Conclusions

During the 20th century, the United States collected thousands of local soybean varieties from Korea and the Manchuria region. Between 1901 and 1976, some 5,496 landraces of soybean were collected from Korea; more than 3,200 of those are preserved at the University of Illinois. The USDA analyzed these collections and reported that about 90% of modern U.S. soybean production is derived from 35 varieties collected in Asia, six of which were gathered from the Korean Peninsula.

In conclusion, American scholars have recognized that “approximately 72–74% of the soybeans cultivated worldwide today originated from the Korean Peninsula and southern Manchuria.” This stands as important scholarly evidence supporting Korea’s role as a center of soybean domestication.

2.The 20th-Century Connection Between the U.S. and Korean Soybeans

In the early 20th century, as the United States underwent rapid industrialization, concerns about securing adequate food supplies intensified. Soybeans, valued as a source of protein, became a strategic crop—and the varieties collected from Korea played a major role.

For example, multinational companies such as Monsanto applied breeding and genetic technologies, including modern biotechnologies, to improve Asian-derived varieties, developing strains better able to withstand drought and resist pests. It would not be an overstatement to say that the native varieties taken from Korean soil contributed to the foundation that allowed the United States to become the world’s leading soybean producer.

In other words, Korean soybeans were not merely a local food resource; they became a cornerstone of the global food industry.

3.Soybeans on the Korean Table — As Essential as Kimchi

Soybeans are an indispensable ingredient in Korean life and on Korean dining tables. If kimchi is Korea’s signature fermented food, soybeans are the foundation of fermentation and a critical source of protein.

Bean Sprouts and Bean-Sprout Soup

Bean sprouts, grown from a single tiny soybean, have long been a staple that nourished ordinary households. Inexpensive yet nutritious, they were indispensable during times of war and poverty. Bean-sprout soup—often consumed as a hangover remedy—and spicy seasoned bean-sprout side dishes remain common fixtures on Korean family tables today.

Meju and Fermented Soy Products: Doenjang, Soy Sauce, and Gochujang

Meju—fermented soybean blocks made from soybeans—is the starting point of Korea’s fermented food tradition. When meju ferments, it becomes doenjang (soybean paste); the liquid from the fermentation process becomes ganjang (soy sauce). If meju is combined with red pepper powder and glutinous rice paste, it yields gochujang (red pepper paste). Doenjang is rich in protein and amino acids and is widely regarded as a healthful food, while soy sauce is essential in nearly all Korean dishes. Gochujang adds heat and umami, completing flavors unique to Korean cuisine.

Tofu and Soy Milk

Tofu is rich in protein and easy to digest, earning the nickname “the poor man’s meat.” Soy milk is also widely loved as a health beverage and has recently become a staple for vegetarians and those following vegan diets.

Soy Flour Foods: Rice Cakes and Traditional Sweets

Finely ground soy flour is used to coat rice cakes such as injeolmi, yakshik, and sirutteok, adding a nutty flavor. Beyond taste, these soy-coated items have played important roles in Korean traditional celebrations and ritual events.

Thus, soybeans have been, and continue to be, as indispensable to the Korean table as kimchi—if not more so.

4.Soy in Korean Culture — Proverbs and Folk Wisdom

Soybeans have seeped beyond the kitchen into Korean thought and culture.

“Where beans are sown, beans will grow; where red beans are sown, red beans will grow.” — A proverb conveying the principle that like produces like.
“Even if one makes meju from beans, it won’t listen” — A saying used to mock stubborn people (a metaphorical expression highlighting obstinacy).
“Splitting a bean in two” — An expression indicating extreme stinginess or meticulousness.

These proverbs show just how close soybeans have been to the daily lives and minds of Koreans.

5.The Modern Crisis of Soybeans in Korea and Seed Sovereignty Issues

Unfortunately, contemporary Korea faces a reality that does not match its status as a soybean homeland. As of 2016, Korea’s soybean self-sufficiency rate was only about 25%. It is striking that 83% of tofu and 92% of traditional fermented soybean products are made from imported soybeans.

Moreover, after the IMF financial crisis, many of Korea’s domestic seed companies were sold to foreign firms, undermining seed sovereignty. A large portion of seeds for crops such as citrus, cabbage, onion, and floriculture depend on Japanese varieties, and Korea pays significant royalties each year.

Fortunately, in recent years the Rural Development Administration and regional agricultural research institutes have invested effort into developing domestic varieties, and local branding initiatives—such as the Jangdan bean festival—continue. Nevertheless, establishing a self-sufficiency system befitting Korea’s status as a soybean origin requires greater attention and investment.

6.Korea’s Soybeans in an Era of Global Food Crises

Since the Russia–Ukraine war erupted, the global food market has become unstable. As supplies of wheat and corn have tightened, soybeans have emerged as an even more strategic crop, because soybeans are nearly unique in providing both protein and oil.

In times like these, Korea’s heritage as the soybean’s place of origin and its long-developed tradition of fermented soybean foods offer lessons of international relevance. Korea has maintained a healthy food culture centered on soybeans for centuries, and it can play an important role in helping the world address food security challenges.

Conclusion: Why Korean Soybeans Deserve Renewed Attention

The soybean is not merely an ingredient. Originating in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, soybeans have enriched humanity’s table and have held a place on the Korean table as important as kimchi.

Yet today Korea struggles with declining self-sufficiency in soybeans and threats to seed sovereignty. It is time to rediscover the value of native Korean soybeans and to promote them worldwide.

The historical fact that Korea is a center of soybean origin is a source of national pride and an asset Korea can offer in the global effort to tackle food security. I hope movements to revive and promote native Korean soybeans continue to grow so that Korea may once again stand at the center of soybean culture.

Thank you very much for reading until the end today. I look forward to bringing you more useful content next time.

This is south Korea