'Rejection of "Remove Dokdo Picture" Leads to Blocked Rice Snack Exports from Japan... Heading to the United States'

A rice snack company that had its exports to Japan blocked due to the 'Dokdo' image on its product packaging has succeeded in entering the U.S. market.

'Dokdo Rice Crackers' stocked in a distribution store in Los Angeles, USA. Provided by Ollbareum

According to reports on the 7th from Jangseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, the infant rice snack manufacturer 'Olbareum' recently entered a distribution store in Orange County near Los Angeles, USA, as reported by Yonhap News Agency on the same day.

This export was achieved through a Korean product wholesale store located in California, USA. Although the initial export volume was worth about 10 million KRW, the wholesale store supplies various Korean products including food and daily necessities across the United States, so it is expected that more products will be introduced to American consumers in the future.

Olbareum, which has specialized in producing infant snacks using locally grown organic rice in Jangseong, Jeollanam-do since 2018, gained attention earlier this year with its 'Dokdo Rice Snack.' At that time, when the company had an opportunity to export to Japan, the client requested, "To finalize the deal, remove the Dokdo image from the packaging." Since 2021, Olbareum has printed an image of the Korean Peninsula with Dokdo on the back of its product packaging along with the phrase "Dokdo is Korean territory."

Image of Dokdo printed on the back of the packaging of Ollareum rice crackers. Provided by Ollareum.

Kim Jeong-gwang, CEO of Olbareum, said, "We could not sell our pride for the sake of exports," and refused the request, standing firm on their principles. As a result, the export was canceled. The export volume proposed by the Japanese buyer at the time accounted for 15% of the company's annual sales.

When this story became known, various online communities and social networking services (SNS), especially mom cafes, began calling the snack the 'Dokdo Rice Snack' and showed support. A so-called 'money punishment (Donzzul, 돈쭐)' relay, meaning "let's punish them by buying their products," led to a surge in orders, causing all products to sell out and resulting in delayed shipping notices.

CEO Kim said, "Thanks to the interest and support from many people, we were able to export our rice snacks with Dokdo printed on them to the United States," adding, "We will continue to repay with good news in the future."

Meanwhile, besides Olbareum, there is another food company that gave up exporting to Japan due to the Dokdo labeling. Kim Production Company Seonggyeong Food refused Japan's demand to remove the Korean Peninsula map including Dokdo from its packaging, resulting in failed exports. However, Seonggyeong Food continues to grow by exporting Korean seaweed to 12 countries worldwide, including the United States, China, and Canada, amid the global popularity of Korean seaweed.