"Kimchi is Chinese Food"... Seok-kyung Deok Calls Persistent Chinese Netizens "Serious"

"'Kimchi Gongjeong' Controversy Continues"

On the occasion of 'Kimchi Day,' Professor Seokyung Deok from Sungshin Women's University criticized the behavior of some Chinese netizens who are promoting kimchi as if it were their own national dish.

On the 22nd, Professor Seo opened his remarks on his Facebook, saying, "After receiving recent reports and checking, I found many videos on Chinese SNS tagged with #Kimchi and #China." He pointed out, "These videos are spreading not only on Chinese SNS but also on YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, and various other platforms, which can be seen as a serious situation."

Professor Seokyung Deok Sungshin Women's University Facebook

He also said, "In 2021, a Chinese YouTuber named Li Ziqi, who has about 20 million subscribers, posted a video of making kimchi with the hashtag '#ChineseFood,' which caused great outrage among domestic netizens." He added, "Especially, Baidu Encyclopedia, China's largest portal site, sparked controversy by making the baseless claim that 'Korean kimchi originated in China.'"

Professor Seo criticized, "Above all, state-run media such as China’s Global Times continue to publish articles that distort public opinion within the country regarding kimchi, and the 'kimchi project' is ongoing without pause."

Finally, he emphasized, "By emphasizing that the nationality and homeland of the Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans in China) are China, they are trying to incorporate Korea’s unique culture into their own. Hopefully, Chinese netizens will learn to respect other countries' cultures first."

Meanwhile, Kimchi Day is a legal commemorative day established by Korea in 2020 to promote the value of kimchi. It is also the first case among Korea’s legal commemorative days where food is the main subject. The timing symbolizes the ideal season for kimjang (kimchi-making), and the various ingredients of kimchi represent 'one by one' (11) coming together to show more than 'twenty-two' (22) health functional benefits.