"Now Even Kimchi Fried Rice Labeled as Chinese Food?"... Controversy Over Labeling at French Supermarket

Kimchi Fried Rice Sold as "Chinese Food"

Frequent Cases of Mislabeling in Europe

Controversy has arisen after kimchi fried rice was found being sold as "Chinese food" at a supermarket in Paris, France.

On October 1, Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University stated, “Based on a tip from a social media user traveling in Paris, we investigated and found that a take-out kimchi fried rice product under the brand 'KUMO' is being sold at a supermarket in downtown Paris, labeled as 'CHINESE FOOD.'”

Professor Seokyungdeok Facebook

The kimchi fried rice product is packaged in a disposable take-out container. Professor Seo pointed out, “Cases of kimchi being mistaken for Chinese or Japanese food still occur frequently in Europe. With China continuously claiming that kimchi originated from their traditional food 'pao cai,' such errors can provide grounds for their unreasonable assertions.”

This is not the first time that kimchi-related products have been mislabeled as food from other Asian countries in Europe.

Recently, a restaurant inside the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, sparked controversy by selling a "kimchi sandwich," having mistakenly identified kimchi as Japanese food. This restaurant offers cuisine inspired by the Netherlands, France, and Japan, countries that influenced Van Gogh’s artistic world, but misidentified kimchi as Japanese. Ultimately, after Professor Seo sent a protest email, the menu item was removed.

Germany’s major retail chain ALDI, known as the "national supermarket," also introduced kimchi on their website as "Japanese kimchi," but corrected this error after receiving a protest email from Professor Seo.

Professor Seo said, “To prevent foreigners from misunderstanding Korean food culture, I plan to send a protest email requesting correction to the local retailer regarding this recent case in France.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.