Cheongyang

Cheongyang is the hottest mainstream Korean chilli - significantly hotter than the milder Korean cooking peppers, but not in superhot territory. Heat lands at 10,000-23,000 SHU, comparable to a serious jalapeño or Serrano, which gives Cheongyang its place as the heat reference point in Korean cooking. Slender green-to-red pods grow upright on compact plants. The variety is named for Cheongyang County in South Chungcheong Province, where the cultivar was developed and has become a regional agricultural identity.

History & lineage

Cheongyang is one of the few Korean chilli cultivars with a clearly documented modern breeding history. The variety was developed in the 1980s through cooperative breeding between Korean agricultural research institutions and farmers in Cheongyang County, South Chungcheong Province. The breeding programme combined a Thai-origin hot chilli with traditional Korean cultivars, producing a chilli that retained Korean flavour characteristics while adding significantly more heat than typical Korean varieties. The variety filled a specific cultural gap. Traditional Korean cooking used relatively mild chillies, with significant heat coming from gochujang fermentation and gochugaru concentration rather than from raw fresh chilli. As Korean food culture evolved through the late 20th century - and as Korean consumers were increasingly exposed to spicier cuisines through international travel and food media - demand grew for a Korean chilli with more substantial fresh heat. Cheongyang answered that demand precisely. Cheongyang County has built significant regional economic identity around the cultivar. Annual Cheongyang Chilli Festival events draw tens of thousands of visitors, the county hosts dedicated chilli-themed museum and educational facilities, and local cooperatives have secured Geographical Indication protection for genuine Cheongyang-grown product. The variety has spread internationally through Korean diaspora communities and Korean grocers, with the Cheongyang name becoming standard issue in Korean cooking globally. The variety has emerged as functionally distinct from "Korean chilli" generally in modern Korean cooking. Where the broader "Korean chilli pepper" category encompasses milder cultivars used primarily for gochugaru and gochujang, Cheongyang has become the specific reference for fresh hot Korean chilli applications. Korean restaurants outside Korea reliably distinguish between the two in menu descriptions, and Korean grocers stock Cheongyang separately from generic Korean chillies for the more discerning Korean cooking customer.

Culinary uses

Used fresh in Korean cooking - chopped into stews, sliced into kimchi preparations, and as the essential hot element in Korean fresh dipping condiments. Distinct from the milder Korean chillies used for gochugaru flake production; Cheongyang's heat suits applications where significant chilli bite is wanted. Increasingly stocked by Korean grocers in major UK cities, where the cultivar has become standard issue for authentic Korean cooking.

Growing it in the UK

Annuum is the forgiving group, and the right place to start. Seed germinates readily in warmth, the season is short enough to finish outdoors in a good summer, and February to early March is soon enough to sow. Germination is given as 10-14 days. At 75 days to maturity it is one of the quick ones: sown in March, it will be picking well before the light goes.

At 60–90 cm this is a substantial plant. Give it a 10-litre pot or a greenhouse border, and stake it before the fruit sets rather than after. The record puts the yield at heavy, so start feeding weekly with something high in potassium as soon as the first fruit sets — a plant carrying that much will run out of steam otherwise.

Thin walls and a high drying score mean it dries well — thread the pods on a string somewhere warm and they will keep for a year.

Read from this variety's own record — the figures are in the panel opposite.