Is China Targeting the Global Market with 'Jjakttung Kimchi'?

On the 18th, at Hanaro Mart Yangjae Branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Nonghyup Distribution executives and employees along with welfare facility officials are making kimchi during the Love Kimchi Making and Donation event. This event was planned to support kimchi for low-income vulnerable groups, and 5,000 portions of kimchi made on-site are scheduled to be delivered through five donation centers. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] "Pao cai is similar to tsukemono, sauerkraut, or pickles. It is one of the pickled foods, but it is not kimchi."

In response to the unexpected controversy over the "humiliation of the kimchi motherland," the World Kimchi Research Institute of Korea issued a sharp rebuttal. The institute stated on the 1st that the reports by Chinese local media claiming that their pickled vegetable food, pao cai, was established as the international standard for the kimchi industry "are not true," and emphasized that "kimchi is a unique Korean food certified by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX) with international standards."

Jomipaochai

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The institute, established to globalize kimchi, clearly distinguished between kimchi and pao cai. The key difference lies in the 'fermentation' process.

In regions with seasonal changes and agricultural cultures, pickled vegetable foods have developed. Besides kimchi, representative examples include China's pao cai, Japan's tsukemono, Germany's sauerkraut, and European pickles. However, pickled foods other than kimchi are made by simply pickling vegetables in salt or vinegar. In the case of kimchi, vegetables such as napa cabbage and radish are first salted, then in a second step, red pepper powder, green onions, garlic, ginger, and other ingredients are added for fermentation.

The institute explained, "Through two rounds of fermentation, various functional substances and lactic acid bacteria not originally present in the raw materials are newly generated," adding that "this fermentation process is why kimchi, unlike other countries' pickled vegetables, has established itself as a functional food."

Pao cai is a food made by pickling vegetables in a cooled broth boiled with salt, prickly ash leaves, and coriander water. Since it adds a seasoning step in the manufacturing process to enhance flavor, it differs from kimchi. The institute also noted that pao cai undergoes no secondary fermentation and rather goes through sterilization, which is why it is not kimchi.

Sichuan-style Paocai

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Notably, kimchi is a food that received the CODEX international standard in 2001. At the time of establishing the standard, Korea, as the motherland, held four rounds of consultations with Japan, a stakeholder country, because there was a Japanese-style kimchi. The two countries unified the name as the Korean word KIMCHI, while partially approving some food additives used in Japanese-style kimchi to establish the international standard.

China had no involvement in this process, as kimchi was considered an unfamiliar food and did not participate in the international standard establishment.

Moreover, the international standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that China received for pao cai is a standard for pao cai itself and has no relation to kimchi. In fact, since kimchi and pao cai are different foods, the standard explicitly states that "this standard does not apply to kimchi."

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Despite these explanations, China's provocations are expected to continue. China is anticipated to target the global kimchi market through this international standard. Just as they disguised this international standard as a kimchi standard, they may present pao cai as a type of kimchi in the global market.

The Chinese media that triggered this controversy, China Market Supervision News, predicted that this international standard would "raise the status and influence of Chinese pao cai in the global market and play a significant role in the development of the Chinese pao cai industry." It also stated, "In 2017, Korea's kimchi trade deficit reached 47.28 million dollars, 35% of kimchi consumption was imported, and 99% of that was from China, rendering Korea's title as the motherland of kimchi meaningless."

The World Kimchi Research Institute explained that since the outbreak of SARS in 2003, China increased kimchi factories as the commercial value of kimchi rose and expanded exports to Korea from the late 2000s. It also noted that kimchi is the only fermented vegetable food worldwide with an international food standard, and recently, French researchers have pointed to the habit of eating kimchi in Korea as a reason for relatively low COVID-19 mortality rates, drawing global attention to kimchi.

Choi Hakjong, Acting Director of the World Kimchi Research Institute, said, "With the recent global interest and recognition of kimchi rising, although the Chinese media's claims are groundless, they have caused controversy," adding, "Going forward, the World Kimchi Research Institute will work harder to scientifically verify the excellence of kimchi and promote it worldwide to prevent such controversies from arising again."

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