kfoodhack

How Hot Is Your Gochujang? Reading the 1–5 Heat Grade on the Tub

고추장gochujang

Quick answer

  • Mildest: Grade 1, 순한맛 (mild hot): under 30 GHU.
  • Hottest: Grade 5, 매우 매운맛 (extreme hot): 100 GHU and over.
  • After opening: Keep it in the fridge.

Sources below.

Gochujang is Korean red chili paste. Many tubs made for Korea show a five-step heat grade, so you can tell how hot the paste is before you open it. Here’s what each grade means, and what the tubs sold abroad say about storage and allergens.

The five heat grades

The grade is based on how much capsaicin, the hot compound in chili, the paste contains. It’s measured in GHU (Gochujang Hot-taste Unit).[3][4]

GradeOn the tubOfficial English nameGHU
1순한맛Mild hotunder 30
2덜 매운맛Slight hot30 to under 45
3보통 매운맛Medium hot45 to under 75
4매운맛Very hot75 to under 100
5매우 매운맛Extreme hot100 and over

Grade ranges and English names: Seoul Shinmun (2010) and BizWatch (2025).[1][2]

Who set the scale

Korea’s agriculture ministry and the food industry agreed on the five-grade standard in April 2010. It grew out of joint research by the Korea Food Research Institute with CJ CheilJedang (Haechandle) and Daesang (Chung Jung One).[1][2][5]

Two tubs you’ll find abroad

CJ gochujang tub (bibigo / Haechandle)영양정보·표시사항
US tub
17.63 oz (500 g) [6][7]
Contains (US)
Wheat, soy, according to the maker. One third-party Walmart listing also lists egg, so check your tub. [6][8]
UK tub
233 kcal and 5.9 g salt per 100 g [9][10]
After opening
Keep refrigerated (UK and EU tubs) [11][9]
O’Food (Daesang)
Sold in the US as O’Food Gochujang Brown Rice Red Pepper Paste, 17.6 oz [12][13]

Some stores call these tubs vegan or halal, but the makers’ pages we checked don’t, so we don’t repeat it. Gochujang made with wheat isn’t gluten-free.

Korean words on this pack

Tap the speaker to hear each word. More in the label decoder.

고추장gochujangred chili paste
매운맛 등급maeunmat deunggeupheat grade (1 to 5, on gochujang)
순한맛sunhanmatmild; on gochujang, grade 1 (mild hot)
덜 매운맛deol maeunmatless spicy; on gochujang, grade 2 (slight hot)
보통 매운맛botong maeunmatmedium hot (gochujang grade 3)
매운맛maeunmatspicy; on gochujang, grade 4 (very hot)
매우 매운맛maeu maeunmatvery spicy; on gochujang, grade 5 (extreme hot)
개봉 후gaebong huafter opening
냉장 보관naengjang bogwankeep refrigerated

Ways to serve it

  • New to it? A teaspoon stirred into soup, fried rice or a marinade shows you the heat before you use more.

These are serving ideas, not part of the pack’s directions.

Sources

  1. Seoul Shinmun (in Korean, 2010): five-grade gochujang heat standard
  2. BizWatch (in Korean, 2025): how gochujang heat grades work
  3. The Korea Times (2010): levels of hotness
  4. Wikipedia: Gochujang
  5. eToday (in Korean, 2009): CJ, Daesang and KFRI research on gochujang heat
  6. bibigo USA: Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste (17.63 oz)
  7. Weee!: Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste 500 g
  8. Walmart (third-party seller): CJ Haechandle Gochujang 500 g
  9. Piccantino (UK): bibigo Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste
  10. McGrocer: CJ Haechandle Gochujang Hot Pepper Paste
  11. Ocado (UK): CJ Taeyangcho Red Pepper Gochujang Paste
  12. H-E-B: O’Food Gochujang Brown Rice Red Pepper Paste
  13. Walmart: Korean pastes (category listing)

Checked October 25, 2026. If your pack differs, follow your pack, and tell us so we can update this page.