Kimchi clash: China, South Korea netizens in online showdown over origin of cabbage staple
- China recently won international certification for pao cai, a pickled vegetable dish from Sichuan, and claimed the kimchi industry is Chinese-led
- But South Koreans were quick to dispute this, accusing China of stealing their cuisine. Officials said it is important to differentiate the two dishes
Beijing recently won a certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for pao cai, an achievement the state-run Global Times reported as “an international standard for the kimchi industry led by China”.
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Kimchi, the latest cultural feud between South Korea and China
South Korean media was fast to dispute such a claim and accuse the bigger neighbour of trying to make kimchi a type of China-made pao cai.
The episode triggered anger on South Korean social media. “Its total nonsense, what a thief stealing our culture!” a South Korean internet user wrote on Naver.com, a widely popular web portal.
“I read a media story that China now says kimchi is theirs, and that they are making international standard for it, It’s absurd. I’m worried that they might steal Hanbok and other cultural contents, not just kimchi,” said Kim Seol-ha, a 28-year old in Seoul.
Some South Korean media even described the episode as China’s “bid for world domination”, while social media comments flagged concerns that Beijing was exercising “economic coercion”.