Magic Powder on the Cabinet
Do you remember? As a child, that seasoning container with red and white packaging quietly resting in a corner of your mother’s kitchen cabinet. We know it better as “Miwon.”
Whenever the stew tasted 2% off or the seasoned vegetables lacked umami, mother would pinch some of this white powder like a secret weapon. Miraculously, the entire dish’s flavor would harmonize. We called it “mother’s touch,” but secretly joked it was thanks to that magical powder.
Would you believe that this simple seasoning is actually the protagonist of a grand drama spanning 100 years? From the agonizing discovery of a Japanese scientist, the determination of a Korean entrepreneur protecting his nation’s pride, the bloody battles between giant corporations wagering gold rings and sweaters, to misunderstandings and false accusations that shook the world.
Now, let’s begin the true story of MSG hidden in the dusty seasoning container in your cabinet that we never knew.
The Fifth Taste, Born in a Tokyo Laboratory
A Dinner That Changed Fate
The story begins in early 20th century Tokyo, Japan, amid the fervor of modernization. Professor Kikunae Ikeda, a chemist at Tokyo Imperial University, was troubled by a unique concern. During his studies in Germany, he was inspired by the robust physiques of Germans and felt a mission to improve the nutritional status of Japanese people. This was more than academic curiosity; it was a heartfelt calling from a scientist worried about his country’s future.
One evening in 1907, while tasting kelp broth his wife had prepared, he encountered a new sensation on his tongue unlike any before. It was neither sweet, salty, sour, nor bitter — it was the fifth taste. “What’s the secret of this broth’s flavor?” he asked. His wife simply said she made it with kelp. At that moment, an ordinary dinner table transformed into the site of a great discovery.
The Birth of “Umami” and the Start of “Ajinomoto”
Professor Ikeda immediately returned to his lab to analyze kelp’s components. After exhaustive boiling and simmering of countless kelp samples, he identified the unique taste’s source as the amino acid glutamic acid. He named this new taste “umami (うまみ, savory taste),” derived from the Japanese word “umai (うまい),” meaning delicious.
Not stopping there, he succeeded in combining glutamic acid with sodium to create a stable, water-soluble white crystal. This was the world’s first L-glutamic acid sodium salt, MSG (Monosodium Glutamate).
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His dream was to let everyone enjoy delicious food through this “umami.” In 1909, partnering with businessmen, he launched “Ajinomoto (味の素),” meaning “Essence of Taste.” Ajinomoto quickly dominated Japanese tables, and Professor Ikeda Kikunae later became one of Japan’s top ten inventors.
A Bold Challenge by a Korean Entrepreneur
A Resolution Sprouted from Ruins
Time passed to the 1950s in South Korea, still healing from war wounds. The market was dominated by foreign products, especially Japanese ones. Among them, Ajinomoto, which had captivated Korean tastes since the colonial era, was sold secretly at prices dozens of times higher than rice.
A young entrepreneur watched this sadly. His name was Im Dae-hong, who would later found the Daesang Group. He resolved, “We will make domestic seasoning with our own hands and capital.” His determination was not just business ambition but a passionate patriotism to erase colonial remnants and achieve economic independence.
A Desperate Struggle for Technology
In spring 1955, he went to Osaka, Japan, and got a menial job at a seasoning factory. Formal technical partnerships were unimaginable then. Enduring Japanese disdain and humiliation, he learned the manufacturing process by watching over shoulders. This was less industrial espionage and more a desperate fight of a man who gave everything for his homeland.
After a year, mastering the core technology, he returned and in 1956 created South Korea’s first domestic seasoning at a small factory in Busan.
The Birth of Korea’s Legend, “Miwon”
He named the product “Miwon (味元),” meaning the pinnacle of taste. It was a clever twist on Japan’s “Ajinomoto (味の素),” replacing “moto (素)” with “won (元).” The symbol featured the traditional Korean royal cuisine vessel “Sinseollo,” clearly asserting Korean identity.
Miwon’s success was explosive. Word spread that “just a little makes the taste amazing,” and merchants lined up in front of the factory. Miwon quickly ousted Ajinomoto and became a household essential, symbolizing Korea’s postwar industrial revival.
The Seasoning War: When Gold Rings and Sweaters Fought
The Giant’s Arrival, Prelude to War
In 1963, when Miwon reigned supreme, a massive upheaval occurred. Cheil Jedang (now CJ CheilJedang), a sugar industry giant under Samsung Group, launched “Mipoong (美豊),” challenging the market. This marked the start of the fiercest “seasoning war” in Korean food industry history.
First Battle: The Era of Premiums and Gifts
In the 1970s, their competition escalated into unprecedented marketing warfare.
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- Cheil Jedang (Mipoong): “Collect 5 empty bags and get a luxury sweater!”
- Daesang (Miwon): “One empty bag gets you a pure gold ring!”
Their rivalry became a social phenomenon, spawning jokes like “The post office makes money thanks to seasoning companies.” The government eventually intervened to stop the giveaways due to excessive competition.
Smear Campaigns and Lee Byung-chul’s Remark
When marketing failed to decide the winner, the war turned dark. Malicious rumors spread that “Miwon is made from powdered Taiwanese venomous snakes.” Miwon had to run damage control ads.
Despite Samsung’s powerful assault, Miwon’s fortress did not fall. The formula “seasoning means Miwon” was deeply engraved in Korean palates. Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul later left a legendary line in his autobiography about this bitter defeat:
“There are three things in this world I cannot control: children, golf, and Miwon.”
This phrase stands as the strongest tribute proving that Miwon was more than a product—it was a cultural icon that ruled an era.
Wearing the Devil’s Clothes
Terror from the Other Side of the Globe
When Miwon won the first war, no one expected a massive storm brewing elsewhere. In 1968, a U.S. doctor reported in a medical journal that after eating Chinese food, he experienced headaches and weakness. This became known as “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (CRS),” and MSG was blamed.
Though scientific evidence was weak, fear spread like a virus. MSG went from “a miracle of science” to being labeled a “harmful chemical additive” overnight.
CJ’s Masterstroke: Turning Fear into Opportunity
This global fear completely changed South Korea’s seasoning market. Cheil Jedang, defeated in the first war, decided to change the game. They sensed consumers’ shift toward “natural” over “artificial,” and “home-cooked deep flavors” over “simple taste.”
In 1975, Cheil Jedang launched “Dasida,” a comprehensive seasoning boasting beef and vegetable broth flavors. They cleverly leveraged the worldwide MSG controversy, promoting a warm slogan of “taste of home” and featuring beloved national mother figure actress Kim Hye-ja to build an image of a “natural and healthy seasoning.”
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Meanwhile, pure MSG-based Miwon was suddenly shunned as the epitome of “chemical seasoning.”
Dawn of a New Era
The result was dramatic. Dasida exploded in popularity, becoming the new king of the seasoning market. CJ, the first war’s loser, finally surpassed its rival riding the wave of MSG fear. The fortress of Miwon, unconquered by Lee Byung-chul, fell not by force but by the power of the narrative “nature versus chemistry.”
The Truth in a Pinch
For decades, MSG was unfairly blamed and pushed to a corner of the kitchen. But science ultimately sided with the truth.
Most suspicions were disproven through decades of rigorous testing.
- World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): Classified MSG as a “very safe food additive,” with no need to set a daily intake limit.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Included MSG in the list of substances “Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS),” like salt and pepper.
In fact, MSG contains only about one-third the sodium of the same amount of salt, so used properly, it can help reduce overall sodium intake.
Now MSG is returning to us after a long tunnel of misunderstanding. Let’s recall once more the white powder in our mother’s kitchen cabinet. It was neither a dangerous chemical nor mysterious snake powder.
It was the dream of a scientist to enrich human life, the fighting spirit of an entrepreneur defending his country’s pride, fierce corporate battles for market dominance, and a 100-year grand drama about our complex relationship with food. That white powder was not a villain but an epic saga played out on our dining tables.