= Kimuchi and Hanguo Pàocài, but why? =

Kimuchi and Hanguo Pàocài, but why?

Korean 김치 kimchi spawns Japanese キムチ kimuchi vs. Chinese 泡菜 pàocài.

Yet, if tsukemono and pàocài are so great, why don’t Japanese and Chinese promote and export their own ethnic food?

Why appropriate Korean kimchi?

Because kimchi apparently has become more appealing even to Japanese and Chinese than their own… Because kimchi is more appealing for export… Because there is more worldwide interest gaining for Korean foods… Because of making money (by appropriating ideas not their own).

Lee Myung Bak and Park Geun Hye serving as presidents of South Korea by helping Japanese and Chinese interests only aggravated the kimchi situation in Korea. Only by saving grace of the recent renewed surge in the third Korean wave has interest in authentic Korean kimchi swelled on the world stage which hopefully improves domestic kimchi within Korea.

Websites featuring “authentic” Japanese kimuchi jiggae made with instant kimuchi salad powder packs are sometimes featured.

— Ajinomoto brand instant kimuchi flavoring pack

Highlight quotes:

• The kimchi dispute broke out in 1996 when Japan proposed designating Japanese kimchi, “kimuchi” (Japanese pronunciation), as an official Atlanta Olympic food (The Independent: October 9, 2000).

• From the early 2000s, the Korean government embarked on the so-called ‘kimchi globalization project’ after successfully thwarting Tokyo’s efforts to register “kimuchi”, the Japanese spelling, in the UN’s Food Code.

• Mr. Fukuda also acknowledged, however, that ‘’Korean people might not be pleased if Japan learns Korean kimchi techniques and makes better products or products that look the same but are not genuine.’’

• However, Japanese kimchi is made with Chinese cabbage and artificial flavor, skipping the fermentation process.

• ‘What the Japanese are selling is nothing more than cabbage sprinkled with seasonings and artificial flavorings,’

• Many Japanese producers skip the fermentation and add artificial sour flavoring using citric acid and gum. The Japanese sometimes use rice paste to give their kimchi a gluey consistency similar to that found naturally in the Korean version.

• Japanese cabbage contains more water and is not as crispy.

• Kimuchi no moto (instant kimuchi base liquid or powder)… monosodium glutamate… citric acid…

• “We also add natto [fermented soybeans] and cheese to our kimchi,” added Oyama.

• Tongren’s kimchi sells for around one-tenth of price charged by the average Korean supermarket, where 1 kilogram of the pickled cabbage goes for 10,000 won.

• But while kimchi itself has since reached worldwide fame, gracing the tables of Michelin-starred restaurants and becoming a key ingredient in dishes at popular American taco joints, Korea’s kimchi trade deficit has been steadily widening.

Preparing authentic kimuchi
https://macaro-ni.jp/86695?page=2

• 시작 Start

• 끝! Finish

Cabbage Is Cabbage? Not to Kimchi Lovers; Koreans Take Issue With the Rendition Of Their National Dish Made in Japan
New York Times
February 5, 2000
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/05/busi … their.html

Ever since Japan colonized the Korean peninsula during the first half of the 20th century, Koreans have harbored an underlying resentment toward the Japanese. But the latest incarnation of that resentment is not an uproar over newly disclosed wartime atrocities by Japan’s military or a fresh instance of discrimination against ethnic Koreans living in Japan.

It is, instead, a growing anger over what some Koreans view as Japan’s attempt to co-opt their national dish: a garlicky, peppery, overwhelmingly pungent pickled cabbage.

Kimchi, as the cabbage is known, has been a staple of the Korean diet for centuries, and in recent years has become an increasingly popular and lucrative export — particularly to the Japanese market. But now, the Korean kimchi industry is seething because Japanese foodmakers are increasingly marketing their own copycat kimchi (pronounced KIM-chee) — and worse, calling it kimchi.

The Koreans have even brought their complaint to international food regulators, accusing the Japanese of subverting the value of authentic kimchi. A favorable ruling for the Koreans could force Japanese makers of kimchi to call it something else.

Japan has countered that Korea has no monopoly on the term kimchi, any more than Mexico can lay claim to tacos or India to curry. But that argument does not fly with the Koreans.

‘’What the Japanese are selling is nothing more than cabbage sprinkled with seasonings and artificial flavorings,’’ said Robert Kim, assistant manager for the overseas sales team here at the Doosan Corporation, a South Korean food manufacturer that operates the world’s largest kimchi factory. ‘’This debate is not just about protecting our market share. We are trying to preserve our national heritage.’’

Kimchi is eaten at most meals in South Korea. Like a strong briny pickle, kimchi is an assault on the taste senses of the uninitiated eater, and is meant to accompany blander foods. It is traditionally prepared with Chinese cabbage, red pepper, garlic, salted fish, ginger and other natural ingredients, then stored underground in clay containers to ferment for at least four weeks.

Once shunned abroad because of its pungent smell, kimchi has gained a devoted following among some non-Koreans. The Japanese are especially drawn by kimchi’s distinct spicy taste and health benefits. Kimchi is a low-fat source of vitamins and minerals. Koreans believe that the microorganisms formed when the salted fish ferments with kimchi’s other ingredients fight cancer.

Winter historically is the prime season in Korea for making kimchi. Nowhere is that more obvious than in this rural township 45 miles north of Seoul, where the Doosan kimchi factory produces 15 tons a day. Doosan has twice expanded its production lines to meet the growing demand, particularly from overseas.

‘’We’ve never seen anything like this before,’’ said Jae Woo Lee, the production manager of the factory, which reeks like a giant clove of garlic. ‘’Orders for kimchi just keep pouring in from all over. This acceptance of our national food makes us very proud.’’

Exports of kimchi increased 63 percent last year, to an estimated $85 million, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. About 90 percent of South Korea’s kimchi exports went to Japan.

That, it seems, is what worries South Korean kimchi makers. In a reversal of the traditional pattern in which Korean manufacturers often copied popular Japanese products at lower cost, competitors in Japan, using cheaper and less time-consuming production methods, are homing in on South Korea’s biggest kimchi export market.

Many Japanese producers skip the fermentation and add artificial sour flavoring using citric acid and gum. The Japanese sometimes use rice paste to give their kimchi a gluey consistency similar to that found naturally in the Korean version.

Critics of the Japanese kimchi say it lacks the depth of flavor and health benefits of its Korean counterpart and that Japanese cabbage contains more water and is not as crispy.

The South Korean government has petitioned the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Codex Alimentarius commission to establish an international standard that would require products using the name kimchi to be fermented according to the Korean tradition.

In negotiations with representatives from South Korea and Japan, the Codex commission is drafting a kimchi standard that is scheduled to be ratified next year by the 150 member countries of the organization, which sets codes for food processing to ensure minimal health standards.

So far, neither the Japanese nor the Koreans seem satisfied with Codex’s draft standard. It defines kimchi as a ‘’fermented’’ product but permits the use of citric, acetic and lactic acids, none of which are used in the traditional kimchi process.

The dispute is expected to intensify as Codex moves closer to ratification. Codex member countries are obliged to revise their domestic regulations to comply with the commission’s standards.

If Codex adopts a standard that requires kimchi products to undergo fermentation, many current Japanese food products sold as kimchi could be required to use a different name, providing a big market opportunity for Korean exporters.

‘’Products that do not fit this standard of fermentation should not be sold under the name kimchi,’’ said Lee Seung Wul, a director at the Agriculture and Fisheries Marketing Corporation, a South Korean government-owned company. ‘’In pushing for this international standard, we are trying to let people know that authentic kimchi is a product that has Korean origins.’’
But Japanese kimchi makers contend that once ethnic dishes gain international popularity, they are usually altered to fit the local palate.

‘’Should the same standard be applied to curry?’’ said Toshio Ogawa, an adviser to the Japan Pickle Producers Association, which represents several Japanese kimchi makers. ‘’Everyone knows that curry was invented in India, but the curry that Indians eat is quite different from the curry that Japanese eat.’’

What is really behind South Korea’s campaign to strictly define kimchi, Japanese manufacturers said, is an effort to gain a larger share of the rapidly expanding Japanese kimchi market. Between 1996 and 1998 annual kimchi production in Japan doubled to about 200,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. During the same period, kimchi imports from Korea to Japan increased to 15,000 tons from 10,000 tons, but they still only account for about 10 percent of the total Japanese market.

Korean producers can sell their kimchi at a considerable markup in Japan. For example, a 500-gram package of kimchi sells for about $2.60 in South Korea while in Japan a 400-gram package sells for about $5.

The Korean kimchi argument has found some support in Japan. Mitsuo Ikeda, managing director of Lotte Bussan Company, a Japan-based food distributor that has been importing Korean kimchi, said it makes sense to adhere to the strict Korean standard.

‘’A broader definition of what constitutes kimchi will diminish the merit of the kimchi that we are importing,’’ Mr. Ikeda said. Lotte’s snack packages of Korean kimchi, which are sold at 7-Eleven stores in Japan, have proved very popular.

Eiji Fukuda, an official of Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, said he believed there was ample room for both domestic and imported kimchi in the Japanese market.

‘’Genuine Korean kimchi is spicy and has a flavor of garlic,’’ Mr. Fukuda said. ‘’It’s delicious, but for the Japanese it is difficult to eat it every morning, and I understand some Japanese might feel they better not eat it before going to meet people.’’

Mr. Fukuda also acknowledged, however, that ‘’Korean people might not be pleased if Japan learns Korean kimchi techniques and makes better products or products that look the same but are not genuine.’’

Asked if South Korea’s effort to restrict Japan’s use of the word kimchi reflected lingering animosity over Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, Mr. Fukuda said, ‘’Though I do not belong to the generation that ruled Korea, there could be some remaining sentiments.’’

Despite the wrangling, some Koreans view Japan’s growing penchant for kimchi as a sign of progress toward closer ties between the two cultures, whether the recipe is Japanese or Korean.

‘’When I was a boy growing up in Japan, the only place we Koreans could eat kimchi was within my family’s house because the Japanese looked down on Koreans, saying that we smelled like garlic and red pepper,’’ said Chong Dae Sung, an ethnic Korean professor of comparative food culture at Shiga Prefectural University in Japan. ‘’Today, the situation is totally changed.’’

Japan Korea Kimchi Dispute
http://mandalaprojects.com/giant-project/kimchi.htm

This case is about the dispute over Korean traditional side dish, kimchi, between South Korea and Japan.

Kimchi is garlicky, peppery, pungent pickled cabbage, and it may safely be said that kimchi represents Korea. However, this Korea’s national dish is in danger because of Japanese copycat kimchi.

Although Japan has imported huge amouns of kimchi from South Korea for the last several years, at the same time, Japanese food companies have begun to make Japanese-style kimchi as kimchi has been getting popularity in Japan.

Furthermore, Japan is expanding its share of the world kimchi market: today, the amount of Japanese kimchi export excesses that of Korean kimchi export.

As a result, South Korea asked the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Codex Alimentarius commission to establish an international standard of “kimchi” while Japan claimed that Korea has no monopoly on kimchi. The Codex standard for kimchi is still under the condition of draft, the Codex committee will adopt the Korean recipe as the international standard for kimchi in July 2001.

The kimchi dispute broke out in 1996 when Japan proposed designating Japanese kimchi, “kimuchi” (Japanese pronunciation), as an official Atlanta Olympic food (The Independent: October 9, 2000).

At the same time, Korea was annoyed by Japan’s rapid increase of the amount of “imitated” kimchi export.

Korea questioned that there was no international appropriate standard to inspect and evaluate the quality of imported kimchi.

In other words, Korea could not tolerate Japanese low quality kimchi (from Korean viewpoint) were floating around in the world market. Korea insisted on an urgent need for international kimchi standard to “protect consumers’ health and to ensure fair practices in the food trade” (KFRI).

As a result, South Korea brought this issue to the Codex Alimentarius that is a part of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. We can see this kimchi argument between Japan and Korea from the following three angles.

First, needless to say, this is an international trade issue. It is a fact that about 80 to 90 percent of South Korea’s kimchi exports have gone to Japan for the last few years, according to Korean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. However, during the same period, kimchi production in Japan has rapidly increased, and Japanese foodmakers have expanded their market share with Japanese-kimchi.

Moreover, the Japanese copied kimchi is cheaper than Korean kimchi because of the difference of its making process. Thus, South Korea is worried about losing the big international kimchi market.

Secondly, this issue is a matter of culture as well. For the Koreans, Japanese kimchi is not genuine kimchi. It is nothing but copycat kimchi.

Korean kimchi is made with Chinese cabbage, red pepper, garlic, salted fish and ginger, and then stored in clay containers to ferment for at least four weeks.(Korea Food Research Institute).

However, Japanese kimchi is made with Chinese cabbage and artificial flavor, skipping the fermentation process.

Kimchi is more than a food for the Koreans. It is a kind of national symbol and part of the national identity for Korea. Kimchi is Korean traditional culture itself. Korea has a saying that “the taste of kimchi is the taste of your mother’s fingertips” (The Independent: October 9, 2000). Thus, to use the term “kimchi” for imitation kimchi is not acceptable for the Koreans, and even it might insult Korean culture.

Finally, we cannot forget the sad history between Korea and Japan, Japan’s colonization of Korea during World War. Some Koreans do not have good feelings toward Japan and regard the kimchi dispute as another invasion by Japan. There are complex sentiments between Japan and Korea because of their history, and the kimchi issue raised new conflict between the two countries. However, kimchi is surely getting popular in Japan, and Korean culture infiltrates Japan. If the two countries resolve the problem in peace, their relationship will be better and closer in the future.

“‘What the Japanese are selling is nothing more than cabbage sprinkled with seasonings and artificial flavorings,’ said Robert Kim, assistant manager for the overseas sales team at the Doosan Corporation, a South Korean food manufacturer that operates the world’s largest kimchi factory” (The New York Times, February 5, 2000). He, his company, and other kimchi factories in Korea are surely affected by the wave of Japanese kimchi industry’s market expansion both domestically and internationally.

Momoya Brand Kimchee Base (Kimuchi No Moto) in 42.32oz (1200g) bottle. Product of Japan.
http://www.efooddepot.com/products/momo … -32oz.html

Ingredients:
water, salt, garlic, sugar glucose fructose syrup (from corn), apple, monosodium l-glutamate, vinegar, mandarin orange, red pepper, pickled vegetables (scallion, chinese cabagge, salt, acetic acid), bonito stock, squid extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, dried bonito, citric acid, ginger, tangle, xanthan gum, disodium succinate, paprika color.

Food and Nationalism:
Kimchi and Korean National Identity
The Korean Journal of International Studies 4–1
(December 2006), 207–29
http://www.kjis.org/journal/view.html?u … =&vmd=Full

The basic problem between Korea and Japan on kimchi is that Japan has developed her own kind of kimchi, called kimuchi — simply the Japanese pronunciation of kimchi — , which is less hot and spicy, and not necessarily fermented like the Korean version, thus with less strong odor.

This was a perfectly normal consequence of local adaptation, but unacceptable for Koreans, because 1) Japan was the formal colonial power of Korea, 2) Japanese kimuchi recipe was a clear violation of the Korean authentic kimchi fabrication method, and 3) Japanese kimuchi market had an enormous potential for enlargement and Japanese manufacturers were potential competitors in world kimchikimuchi market.

The most feverish phase of Korea-Japan Kimchi War was the period 1995–2001 during which the international CAC (Committee Alimentarius Codex) discussed, examined, and finally fixed an international standard for kimchi.

In this process, the Korean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry played a leading role by first submitting a draft proposition in 1995. The Korea Food Research Institute under the Ministry, created in 1987–88, was the concrete actor and negotiator of this internationalization of kimchi. Following the symbolic manipulation by the Ministry of Culture, the main motive of state intervention was‘ cultural mercantilism’in order to export merchandises of Korean culture.

The War was in fact a series of negotiations between Korea and Japan over what to call kimchi-kimuchi: Korea favored the traditional method of natural fermentation, while Japan opposed such a restrictive definition.

Ogawa Toshio, from the Japanese National Tsukemono Cooperatives Union, is against calling kimchi only Korean style kimchi, because every food should adapt to local market and one can not ignore the demand of Japanese consumers.

Kim Yeongyeol, President of the Korean Food Consortium of Japan, argued that “if Korean kimchi and Japanese kimchi were called by the same name, it would be a second Japanization of name”.

On July 2001, the kimchi standard was officially registered at the CAC as a consequence of Korean-Japanese compromise: The Korean version of food name, kimchi, was internationally recognized, while a large definition of fabrication method was adopted, opening the way for Japanese manufacturers to legitimately call their products kimchi.

The international standardization policy reflected the state’s commercial interest in expanding the kimchi international market and in stimulating Korean kimchi exports. But, confronted with Japanese commercial interests, Korean government was forced to accept a broader definition of its national dish. Once kimchi was internationally standardized, another

But it was counting without a terrible new actor, China.

At the turn of the century, the prospective for Korean kimchi industry seemed brilliant: In 2000, the Korean annual production of kimchi was estimated 1.5 million tons with 450,000 tons for manufactured kimchi, the majority being still prepared in households. But the industrial part of the market was steadily growing. The Japanese market of kimchi-kimuchi was estimated at 180,147 tons in 1998, and Korean exports of kimchi to Japan were also increasing, from 12,080t in 1997 to 24,561t in 1999, the Japanese market representing the quasi-totality of Korean exports (97%). It was perfectly natural to expect for continuous development of Korean kimchi industry on both domestic and foreign markets: The sovereign house of kimchi was to reign on world market.

At the dawn of the new century, China began to export kimchi to Korea in small amounts: In 2002, it was only 1,041t, which means less than 1% of manufactured kimchi market. But the low production cost of China and the consequent international division of labor provoked a rapid delocalization of kimchi industry from the sovereign house to foreign lands. Chinese kimchi exports to Korea traced a dramatic ascension curb to 28,701t in 2003, to reach about 100,000t in 200557). The latter number means that the average annual individual consumption of Chinese kimchi by Koreans is 2㎏!

Kimchi business battles imports
Korea Joonang Daily
November 6, 2018
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/ne … id=3055248

• Workers at Tongren Food’s kimchi production line season napa cabbage with ground chili pepper at a factory in Qingdao, China. Chinese kimchi manufacturers like Tongren export the fermented cabbage to Korea and Southeast Asia, and also sell it locally to Chinese consumers. [TONGREN FOOD]

Eight automated production lines at a kimchi factory churn out Korea’s spicy fermented cabbage staple with impressive efficiency, seasoning them with copious amounts of vitamins and ground chili pepper. The factory boasts 21 different kimchi products, and manufactures a total of 21,000 tons (46.3 million pounds) of the pickled cabbage every year.

The factory is located in Narita, Japan. It’s owned by Miyama, Japan’s largest kimchi producer.

Though kimchi of Korean origin was popular in Japan until a few years ago, now Japanese kimchi is all the rage,” said CEO Hajime Oyama, in discussing Japan’s $700-million kimchi market. “From next year, we plan to enter the Korean market with our kimchi specially designed to satisfy young people’s palates.”

Fond of experimenting with various ingredients, Oyama uses persimmon and apple extract to add extra sweetness to Miyama’s kimchi. The resulting flavors, which moderate the spiciness, are intended to appeal to younger consumers.

“We also add natto [fermented soybeans] and cheese to our kimchi,” added Oyama.

Kimchi exports to Japan have been on a steady decline since 2010 as companies like Miyama have crowded out Korean competitors.

From the early 2000s, the Korean government embarked on the so-called ‘kimchi globalization project’ after successfully thwarting Tokyo’s efforts to register “kimuchi”, the Japanese spelling, in the UN’s Food Code.

But while kimchi itself has since reached worldwide fame, gracing the tables of Michelin-starred restaurants and becoming a key ingredient in dishes at popular American taco joints, Korea’s kimchi trade deficit has been steadily widening.

The deficit reached an all-time high of 52 billion won ($46.32 million) last year, when Korea exported a total of 89.5 billion won worth of kimchi worldwide, but imported 141.5 billion won worth of the fermented cabbage from China alone.

Today, it’s no surprise to walk into a local Korean restaurant and have Chinese kimchi served in favor of their much more expensive domestic alternatives.

Not only is China a large producer of key kimchi ingredients, like napa cabbage, radish, onion and ginger, but cheap labor helps bring production costs down dramatically. A Chinese employer spends easily 30,000 won per worker per day less when compared to their Korean and Japanese competitors.

Chinese kimchi manufacturer Tongren Food produces 20,000 tons of kimchi at its 35,000 square meter (376,737 square feet) facility in Qingdao every year. It strictly adheres to government food safety standards, with the facility fully equipped with a water waste management system and quality control labs that check for pesticides in the cabbage.

So far this year, Tongren has exported 10,000 tons of kimchi to Korea. The rest of its kimchi is sold off to Malaysia and Cambodia, or to other parts of China for domestic consumption.

“We export 10 kilograms of kimchi for under 10,000 won to Korea,” said Song Lixian, the CEO of Tongren Food.

Tongren’s kimchi sells for around one-tenth of price charged by the average Korean supermarket, where 1 kilogram of the pickled cabbage goes for 10,000 won.

“As kimchi is gaining popularity with Chinese locals, we’ve sold a lot of our products to Tianjin and Beijing. In the future, we want to increase exports to Southeast Asia and Europe,” said Song.

While international factors like cheap Chinese imports and kimchi production in Japan contribute to the growing kimchi trade deficit, domestic policies that bar conglomerates from entering and innovating in the industry are also a cause of concern.

Certain characteristics of kimchi make it a difficult product to export. Volatile napa cabbage prices, for example, forced Daesang to halt sales of its famous Jongga kimchi brand in September.

“There needs to be agricultural research on maintaining steady levels of cabbage supply as well as scientific research on quality assurance,” said Chairman Ha Jae-ho of the World Institute of Kimchi, a government-funded institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Because kimchi tends to ferment quicker in higher temperature, it’s easy for flavors to change in transit to export destinations. If kimchi becomes too fermented, its pungent and acidic smells — which strengthen with time — can drive away potential customers.

“When kimchi becomes too ripe from long travel time, the Chinese locals think it has gone bad,” said Choi Min-gyu, who sells kimchi wholesale at Qingdao.

Japanese companies like Miyama are already experimenting with additives like vitamins to control the acidity and fermentation speed of kimchi. Delaying fermentation and suppressing pungent odors is key to boosting exports to faraway destinations like North America, where it takes a month for kimchi exports from Asia to arrive.

Though large food companies may be best suited to research and develop innovative processing and distribution methods, in Korea, government regulations bar and penalize them from expanding their kimchi businesses.

The kimchi industry is currently regarded as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), meaning that conglomerates are discouraged from expanding production or acquiring or starting a new Kimchi businesses.

With regulations strengthening from next month, conglomerates that expand into the market may face up to 150 million won in fines and be required to forfeit up to 5 percent of the total revenues made from kimchi sales.

“For kimchi to go global, we need scientific research, including the study of bacteria as well as the development of new refrigeration and transportation technology,” said a spokesman from food giant CJ Cheiljedang. “But strict government policies may hinder conglomerates from such research and development.”

◦

—Kimuchi nabe キムチ鍋 / kimuchi jiggae キムチチゲ

Premade Nabe Soup Stock

Some people asked about premade nabe soup stock that is sold in Japanese grocery stores… seem convenient as all you need to do is to pour the soup broth to your pot and add fresh ingredients to it.

However, they include preservatives, MSGs, and unknown ingredients that I can’t pronounce if you look at the ingredients on the back.