Kimchi: Korean dish became a billion-dollar business – 01/02/2024 – Food

Have you ever tried kimchi?

If we had asked these questions ten years ago, it is possible that many would have answered with a resounding “no”.

But over the past decade, and especially since the pandemic, the Korean specialty has gained prominence in supermarkets, restaurants and homes around the world.

We tell you what’s behind the popularity of this traditional dish and how it became a multi-million pound global business.

What is kimchi

The Korean people, today divided between the communist north and the capitalist south, share an ancient gastronomic tradition in which vegetables, along with rice, fish and meat, are basic ingredients.

The harsh winter on the Korean Peninsula, with temperatures below -20º degrees in some regions, favored the practice of fermentation to preserve the nutritional content of vegetables in the coldest months of the year.

Especially in autumn, Korean women often ferment spinach, radish, sesame leaves or cucumber at home.

But there is one vegetable that occupies a special place among the others: chard, or Chinese cabbage, the main ingredient in kimchi.

For centuries, this fermented product has been ubiquitous in Korean homes, which almost always keep it in a refrigerator dedicated to it and serve it with almost every meal of the day, whether as a side dish or cooked in soups, stews and stir-fries.

To prepare kimchi, chard is cut, salted and mixed with a paste of garlic, ginger, scallions, fish paste (jeotgal) and chili powder (gochugaru).

After adding radishes and other optional vegetables, the mixture is left to ferment at room temperature and then in the refrigerator.

Both the choice of ingredients and the fermentation time — which can vary from a few days to several months — contribute different nuances to the characteristic acidic and spicy flavor of kimchi.

“The flavor changes throughout fermentation and tastes different depending on who prepares it. They say there are as many flavors of kimchi as there are mothers,” says Cherin Park, chief researcher at the World Kimchi Institute in South Korea, in an interview with BBC Business Daily podcast.

How it became international

Its raw appearance, intense spicy flavor and the burning sensation it produces on the tongue mean that kimchi is initially not the most attractive delicacy for Westerners trying it for the first time.

Since the 17th century, millions of Koreans have settled in communities abroad, from Russia and China to the United States and Argentina.

Although almost all of these families have preserved the tradition of making kimchi and consuming it daily, in the host countries this fermented product was practically unknown outside of Korean circles. And in the rest of the world it didn’t even exist.

But the situation has changed.

The global kimchi market was valued at US$3.49 billion (R$17 billion) in 2022 and is expected to grow in the following years at an average rate of 5.2%, exceeding US$5 billion (R$24 billion). 5 bi) in 2029.

About a decade ago, kimchi went from being a food known and consumed only by Koreans to becoming a modern product, available in supermarkets around the world and promoted by chefs, celebrities and food experts.

Two factors had a crucial influence on the rapid globalization of kimchi: the rise of South Korea as an economic and cultural reference in the world, and the growing tendency of consumers to prioritize healthy eating, especially since the covid pandemic.

Reasons for success

Consolidated as a global power in the electronics and automotive sectors, Asia’s fourth largest economy has also become a cultural reference for music, with groups such as BTS, cinema, such as the acclaimed “Parasite”, or series, such as “Round 6”, among many others examples.

“The popularity of kimchi is inevitably linked to the popularity of South Korea,” says Korean-born BBC journalist David Cann.

Therefore, consumers of Korean content are interested in the diet of their K-Pop idols, the recipes shown in new fashion series or the dishes that the protagonist of their favorite film tastes.

And, among the ingredients that appear on the screen, kimchi is rarely missing.

There is something else that this dish provides in abundance thanks to its fermentation process: lactobacilli.

These “are one of the biggest selling points for kimchi on the global market as a probiotic food with bacteria beneficial for intestinal health”, says Park.

“Nowadays, food is not consumed just for its taste, but for its health benefits and, personally, I see the jump in kimchi’s popularity in recent years”, adds the researcher.

There is a consensus among experts that the biggest boost came after the Covid-19 pandemic, which multiplied people’s interest in foods that help protect and improve the immune system.

Since 2020, South Korean kimchi exports have grown at an annual rate of more than 10%, much more than in previous years, according to data from the Seoul Customs Service.

The growing number of entrepreneurs doing business in kimchi also reflects the unusual boom of the past three years.

“During the pandemic, people couldn’t go out to eat. Many at home became interested in Korean food, searching for information online and watching videos on YouTube. And, of course, you can’t talk about Korean food without mentioning kimchi” , says Dan Zhu, general director of Korea Food, the largest importer of Korean food in Europe.

Zhu says he has noticed a strong boost in his sales and a diversification of his customers in the United Kingdom: “previously 90% or 95% of consumers were Korean, but now between 50% and 60% are British or other nationalities.”

My experience with kimchi

I discovered kimchi in March 2009 when I moved to Seoul, where I worked as a broadcaster and correspondent for the next 7 and a half years.

It caught my attention that Korean restaurants always had, along with the main dish, a variety of side dishes or banchan, among which kimchi was almost never missing, served cold in a small bowl.

The first few times I tried it, I didn’t like it: its acrid and spicy flavor didn’t suit my Spanish palate.

Over the next few years, through sweat and tears, my tolerance for spicy increased and I began to appreciate this fermented product, not only as a side dish, but also cooked in kimchi jiggae, the most popular Korean stew, or kimchi bokkeumbab, stirred with rice and a fried egg. .

I realized that the Koreans were right when they said that kimchi is addictive.

Almost without realizing it, I went from enjoying it in restaurants, in other people’s homes and buying it at the supermarket.

And, as I didn’t know how to prepare Korean recipes, I invented a new specialty with a Mediterranean touch: kimchi noodles.

For a long time, fusilli with garlic sauce, onion, kimchi, bacon, melted mozzarella and sesame leaves or kennip was the star of social gatherings in my apartment in Seoul.

After leaving South Korea in 2016, I didn’t completely move away from kimchi, but we took a break.

For years, I only consumed it occasionally in Korean restaurants in one country or another.

Now that I live in Miami, I have had a complete relapse to the fermented substance, perhaps due to the tendency towards healthy eating imposed by the canons of what is said to be one of the most superficial and demanding cities in the United States. Or maybe out of nostalgia. Or a mix of both.

Although there aren’t as many varieties as in Korea, kimchi is easy to find in supermarkets here and is never missing from my shopping cart.

Of course, in line with my healthier habits, I swapped kimchi pasta for kimchi salad, and most of the salads I prepare and devour daily incorporate its generous portion of red, spicy Korean lactobacilli.

This text was originally published here