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Seoul: China’s efforts to obtain international certification for pao cai, a pickled vegetable dish from Sichuan, are turning into a social media clash between Chinese and South Korean netizens over the origin of kimchi, a staple food Korean made from cabbage.
Beijing recently won an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification for pao cai, an achievement that the state-run Global Times reported as “an international standard for the China-led kimchi industry.”
South Korean media were quick to dispute such a claim, accusing the larger neighbor of trying to make kimchi a type of pao cai made in China.
The episode sparked anger on South Korean social media.
“It’s total nonsense, what a thief stealing our culture!” a South Korean netizen wrote on Naver.com, a very popular web portal.
“I read a story in the media that China now says that kimchi is theirs, and that they are making it an international standard. It is absurd. I am concerned that they may steal hanbok and other cultural content, not just kimchi.” Kim Seol said. ha, a 28-year-old in Seoul.
Some South Korean media even described the episode as an “attempt by China to dominate the world”, while some comments on social media raised concerns that Beijing was exercising “economic coercion.”
On Weibo, similar to Twitter in China, Chinese netizens claimed that kimchi was the traditional dish of their country, as most of the kimchi consumed in South Korea is made in China.
“Well if you don’t meet the standard then you’re not kimchi,” wrote one on Weibo. “Even the pronunciation of kimchi originated from Chinese, what else can I say?” Wrote another.
The South Korean Ministry of Agriculture issued a statement on Sunday saying mainly that the ISO-approved standard does not apply to kimchi.
“It is inappropriate to report (that pao cai won the ISO) without differentiating kimchi from Sichuan pao cai in China,” the statement said.
