"Kimchi Lactic Acid Bacteria Derived from Deep Ocean Water, Good Flavor and Beneficial Substance Production"

Gangwon Goseong-gun to Begin Full-Scale Production of Kimchi Using Deep-Sea Water-Derived Kimchi Lactic Acid Bacteria
Mass Production of Starter Cultures Industrialized... Plans to Utilize in Fermented Alcohol Production

Goseong County, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Ham Myung-jun) announced on the 25th that the Marine Deep Water Industry Goseong Promotion Institute (Chairman Ham Myung-jun) will begin full-scale production of kimchi using kimchi lactic acid bacteria derived from Goseong County marine deep water through the 2024 ‘Marine Deep Water Agro-Food Industrialization Microorganism Development Project.’

Ara Kimchi from Goseong-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, utilizing kimchi lactic acid bacteria derived from deep ocean water. Photo by Goseong-gun Office

The ‘Marine Deep Water Agro-Food Industrialization Microorganism Development Project’ is a fermentation microorganism resource development and industrialization project led by the Marine Deep Water Industry Goseong Promotion Institute from 2023 to 2026 for four years, in joint cooperation with the Fermentation Microorganism Industry Promotion Institute.

In 2023, characteristic evaluations were completed for 221 types of microorganisms, and among them, 10 lactic acid bacteria strains with excellent activity were selected. In 2024, using the kimchi lactic acid bacteria strains Leuconostoc mesenteroides GS76 and Lactobacillus brevis SC95, a field demonstration production was conducted at Goseong County Ara Kimchi, using commercially available lactic acid bacteria as comparative microorganisms.

As a result, kimchi made with the Leuconostoc mesenteroides strain isolated from marine deep water was found to have the best flavor and excellent production of useful substances (mannitol).

The Leuconostoc mesenteroides strain was manufactured into an active dried powder for industrial use. Receiving this powder from Ara Kimchi to produce kimchi, it was evaluated to have value as a kimchi starter culture, and continuous production of starter culture kimchi began.

The Marine Deep Water Industry Goseong Promotion Institute announced plans to continuously supply kimchi lactic acid bacteria to kimchi manufacturers within Goseong County through mass production next year, and additionally plans to conduct field demonstration evaluations of fermented liquor using yeast derived from marine deep water with fermented liquor manufacturing companies in Goseong County.

Kim Yong-hwan, Director of the Marine Deep Water Industry Goseong Promotion Institute, stated, “We plan to continue research and development and preparations to expand industrialization research on useful fermentation microorganisms derived from marine deep water not only to fermented foods but also to the agricultural sector, to supply related companies within Goseong County.”