I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Fear of unsanitary Chinese imports triggers 'eat safe kimchi' campaign in Korea
Kimchi / gettyimagesbank
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Some kimchi suppliers launch the campaign to certify eateries serving locally-processed kimchi
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Video footage showing a naked man submerged waist deep in a pool filled with cloudy water and cabbages at an unspecified kimchi factory in China caused an uproar among Koreans in March.
Disturbed by the video, Korean consumers have started to boycott kimchi produced in China and to look more carefully into how the food they eat has been made before it ends up on dining tables here.
Kim Ji-sook, who owns a small eatery selling home-cooked meals to office workers in downtown Seoul, said some of her customers have begun to ask her about the origin of the kimchi she serves in her restaurant.
“I don't lie; I tell them our kimchi was produced in China. But after hearing my answer, they don't eat the kimchi,” she told The Korea Times.
She said that the video, highlighting unsanitary kimchi production conditions in an unspecified mainland Chinese plant, was a true game changer shaping her customers' consumption of kimchi. Her restaurant has more kimchi left over than before, triggering an increase in food waste.
Korea imports roughly 300,000 tons of kimchi annually from China. The vast majority of this imported kimchi goes to restaurants. The price of imported kimchi per 1 kg is about a third of the cost of kimchi produced in Korea, making the imported spicy side dish hard to turn down for pandemic-hit restaurant owners desperate to cut costs.
Lee Ha-yeon, president of the Kimchi Association of Korea (KAK), which consists of the heads of over 80 kimchi producers and suppliers, said that blaming restaurants as the main culprit behind the surge in kimchi imports is not constructive.
“The blame game doesn't help,” she said. “Kimchi from mainland China is a lot cheaper than kimchi made in Korea. In a capitalist society, it's natural that restaurant owners are tempted to go for a cheaper product.”
Lee said the practice of providing free refills of kimchi is the main reason restaurants serve cheap mainland Chinese-made kimchi. “Restaurants allow customers to have free refills of kimchi. As long as free refills continue, I think restaurants will have no option but to keep serving cheaper Chinese kimchi,” she said.
KAK has turned to implementing a “realistic” measure to make sure that consumers eat kimchi processed in sanitary conditions at local restaurants.
It launched an ambitious campaign to certify restaurants serving kimchi produced in Korea with local ingredients. KAK members hope that the labeling campaign can lead to an increase in the consumption of Korean kimchi and help struggling local kimchi suppliers see a business breakthrough.
“I think consumers need to understand that kimchi is not free of charge. They need to pay for it if they want to eat safe kimchi,” Lee said.
Lee Ha-yeon, president of Kimchi Association of Korea, makes kimchi in this undated photo. Courtesy of Lee Ha-yeon
In the campaign, eateries that serve kimchi made using local ingredients or produced in Korea can apply for a “locally-produced kimchi” label. They are required to submit related documents and pieces of evidence that can prove their claims. Their applications will be thoroughly reviewed by KAK committee members. If all requirements are met, the organization issues certificates to the restaurants.
Lee said that the KAK so far has received applications from some 5,000 eateries all across the country. Among other cities and provinces, she said that restaurants based in South Jeolla Province are the most active in the voluntary labeling program nationwide.
“Restaurants in South Jeolla Province are keen to join the labeling program mainly because they know it will create a win-win circumstance for local farmers, kimchi suppliers and consumers,” she said. “The Jeolla region is home to premium salt, as Shinan County is world-famous for its mineral-rich salt used in seasoning cabbage. Farmers in the region produce cabbage, green onions, red pepper and other vegetables that are used as the key ingredients of kimchi. Due to its geographical location in the West Sea, a variety of fish sauces are available there, too.”
Lee said that her schedule this week and in July is packed with business trips to provincial cities to present certificates to owners of eateries who meet the locally-produced kimchi label qualifications.
“Our rationale behind the restaurant certification is that consumers can choose certified eateries over non-certified ones that provide mainland Chinese kimchi. This ability to choose will create a chain reaction in non-certified eateries as their owners will feel pressured and will ultimately consider joining the certification program as well,” she said. “If this happens, consumers will be able to eat kimchi produced locally in sanitary conditions.”
A label certifying locally-processed kimchi
It remains uncertain as of yet whether or not the labeling campaign can yield the results Lee and other KAK members wish for.
Some are convinced by the KAK's initiative, saying their push for the certification program may gain momentum as many Korean consumers are wary of mainland Chinese kimchi due to the video.
But some disagree.
“It sounds good for Korean farmers and kimchi producers,” said Kim's husband, a chef who works at their restaurant. “But to be honest, I don't think it will have any significant impact on non-certified eateries or on the overall consumption of homegrown kimchi.”
He said that kimchi is “one of the side dishes” served in most Korean food and not the only dish. He went on to say that consumers choose their preferred restaurants because of their main dishes; the kimchi rarely plays a key role in determining customers' decisions of which restaurant to eat at.
“So, I think serving Korean kimchi made with locally produced ingredients itself won't necessarily trigger a flurry of customers to the certified restaurants,” he said.
He said that the kimchi made in sanitary ways campaign could appeal to customers who love certain foods, like hand-cut noodles, better known as kalguksoo in Korean, which are served mainly with kimchi.
“As kalguksoo is served with unfermented kimchi, called 'geotjeori' in Korean, customers will want to check if restaurants serve locally made kimchi. So people who want to eat hand-cut noodles will think of which restaurants serve locally made kimchi,” he said. “But what will happen is that those restaurants already serve their own homemade geotjeori. So in fact, this new labeling system won't have much of an impact on them.”
Kimchi produced in China has been at the center of controversy since China beefed up a campaign to claim the origin of kimchi as Chinese.
China's ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun raised eyebrows in Korea in January when he uploaded images of him posing with kimchi he made on social media.
Chinese state media also claimed that China's pickled “pao cai” is the origin of kimchi. This cultural provocation irked Koreans, leading to an online clash between the citizens of the two countries over each other's claims.