[Reporter’s Notebook] It Is Time to Break the Chain of Underdeveloped Country-Type Food Scandals

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The entire country is once again in turmoil due to a food hygiene incident. This time, it’s kimchi. And it happened in South Korea, the birthplace of kimchi, in 2022. It has been exactly one year since the so-called “naked kimchi” video spread online in March last year, sparking a movement to boycott Chinese-made kimchi.

A previously released video showing the kimchi manufacturing process at Hanseong Food was as shocking as the naked kimchi video at the time. The video revealed that the kimchi, marketed under the title “Master Kimchi” and served on the nation’s tables, was actually made from rotten napa cabbage and moldy radish. When the scene showed what appeared to be caterpillar eggs densely attached inside the box storing the finished kimchi, it actually made me gag. Even though I had never purchased kimchi from that company, the mental shock did not subside. How much more so for those who actually ate it?

Hanseong Food issued an apology under the name of CEO Kim Soon-ja, stating, “We deeply apologize for causing great concern to our consumers,” and “We are determined to permanently close the factory if necessary and completely overhaul our hygiene and quality control systems.” It sounded like they intended to at least fix the barn sturdily, even though the cows were lost. However, there is no way to get back the cows once lost. The home shopping industry that sold this kimchi also faced a sudden crisis. As customer complaints and refund demands poured in, companies hurriedly stopped sales and promised refunds to manage the aftermath.

Other manufacturers are also anxiously worried about being implicated. The government is reportedly reviewing the revocation of CEO Kim’s designation as a kimchi master. Of course, it is important to revoke certificates given to unqualified individuals, but what is more urgent is to end the public’s distrust of kimchi and anxiety about food safety that has spread once again. The chain of underdeveloped country-type food hygiene accidents that appear whenever we almost forget must be broken now. When China referred to kimchi as “paochai” as part of the so-called “kimchi process,” the entire nation was outraged. But at this rate, there is no reason left to be angry.

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