Kimchi Disguised as 'Paochai' in China... Accelerating National Geographical Indication System

A digital poster created by the cyber diplomacy delegation VANK to promote Kimchi worldwide. On November 29 last year, China's state-run media Global Times distorted the facts by reporting that "since China's pickled vegetable pao cai (泡菜) was designated as an international standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Korean kimchi also falls under pao cai, making China the global standard for the kimchi industry." (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] On the 18th, the government announced that it is promoting the registration of the geographical indication of the country name for kimchi, which domestic food companies are known to be selling in China under the name "Paochai" (泡菜). This is a measure to clearly declare overseas that Korea is the country of origin of kimchi.

Currently, in China, it is widespread to call Korean kimchi "Paochai," and many are known to claim that since Paochai is Chinese food, the country of origin of kimchi is also China. The geographical indication is a type of intellectual property right that clearly indicates Korea as the country of origin of kimchi. Currently, Korea has established geographical indication partnerships with the European Union (EU) and others.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "According to the current Chinese National Food Safety Standard (GB), it is understood that labeling is possible by using both '김치', 'KIMCHI' and '泡菜' together," and added, "We are promoting the registration of the geographical indication of the country name for kimchi to eradicate illegal acts where foreign-made kimchi is disguised as Korean-made in overseas markets."

The official explained, "For example, if a local citizen in Chile, which has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea, buys kimchi but it is not certified, the brand value of that food product will be correspondingly lower."

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, if the main ingredients of kimchi, such as napa cabbage and radish, are domestically produced and processed in Korea, registration of the geographical indication of the country name is possible. Regarding industry demands such as whether to allow imported ingredients for kimchi, opinions will be collected through procedures involving producers and consumer groups. Currently, the Ministry is revising the Enforcement Decree of the "Agricultural and Fishery Products Quality Control Act" to establish legal grounds related to country-level registration.

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