Professor Seokyeongdeok Protests Distortion of Kimchi Origin on Chinese Baidu Encyclopedia → 'Deletion Completed'

Professor Seo: "We Will Preserve Our Culture Such as Hanbok and Kimchi"

Professor Seokyung Deok, Sungshin Women's University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Professor Seo Kyungdeok of Sungshin Women's University announced on the 8th that he sent a protest email to the Chinese 'Baidu' regarding the claim that kimchi originated in China. On the same day, it was confirmed that the problematic phrase was deleted from Baidu Encyclopedia.

In the protest email sent that day, Professor Seo pointed out that he found a false introduction on Baidu Encyclopedia, China's largest internet site, stating "Korean kimchi originated in China," calling it "an obvious lie."

He added, "It seems they do not have proper information about kimchi, so I am attaching accurate materials about the history and culture of kimchi," emphasizing, "Please make sure to check and correct the false information."

He also advised, "Recently, China has been making unreasonable claims that Korea's unique culture belongs to them, but before suffering international embarrassment, I hope they first develop a mindset that respects other countries' cultures."

It has been reported that Baidu, China's largest internet site, contains incorrect information in its encyclopedia stating that the origin of kimchi is the Chinese dish "paochai." / Photo by Seokyungdeok, Sungshin Women's University Professor Research Team

Meanwhile, as of 4 p.m. on the day Professor Seo sent the protest email, it was confirmed that the problematic phrase "Korean kimchi originated in China (韓國泡菜源于中國)" was deleted from Baidu Encyclopedia.

Earlier, on the 26th of last month, Professor Seo also sent a protest email to Paper Games, the developer of the styling game 'Shining Nikki,' which had removed the hanbok costume after accepting some Chinese netizens' claims that "hanbok originated from the Hanfu traditional clothing of the Ming Dynasty in China."

Regarding this, Professor Seo emphasized, "Recently, China has been making unreasonable claims that Korea's unique culture such as hanbok, pansori, and kimchi belongs to them, but we will confidently stand firm with historical facts and protect our culture."

Additionally, Professor Seo plans to produce multilingual videos about hanbok and kimchi soon to properly inform Chinese and global netizens about Korea's unique culture.

Kimchi promotional poster created by the Cyber Diplomatic Mission VANK on the 3rd. / Photo by VANK Instagram

Meanwhile, recently a Chinese media outlet distorted the issue by reporting that "China is the global standard for the kimchi industry," sparking controversy over the authenticity of kimchi.

On the 29th of last month, China's 'Global Times' reported, "The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has established the Chinese pickled vegetable, paocai, as the international standard," and "Since Korean kimchi also falls under paocai, China is now the global standard for the kimchi industry."

However, this information was found to be incorrect. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs issued an explanatory statement refuting the Chinese media's claim, stating, "The establishment of international standards for paocai has nothing to do with Korean kimchi."

According to the ministry's explanation, Korean kimchi was already established as an international standard by the Codex Alimentarius Commission under the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization in 2001. It was recognized as a separate food from paocai.

Meanwhile, paocai is a salted vegetable dish from Sichuan, China, where vegetables are either fermented or boiled and then fermented.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.