November 22 is 'Kimchi Day'... "Kimchi, Rising Beyond Food to a Global Cultural Icon"

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 21st that it will hold the '2023 4th Kimchi Day' commemorative ceremony at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, to celebrate Kimchi Day on November 22.

Kimchi Day was established as the first food-related legal commemorative day in 2020. This year, to mark the 10th anniversary of the registration of 'Kimjang Culture' as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, three organizations?the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the World Institute of Kimchi, and the Korea Kimchi Association?have jointly prepared the commemorative event.

On this day, in addition to the ceremony, various beneficial programs will be held, including a special exhibition for the 10th anniversary of the UNESCO registration, an exhibition of award-winning works from the kimchi tasting contest and cooking competition, a reenactment performance of Kimjang culture, a kimchi science talk concert, and a kimchi technology exchange exhibition.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the number of countries exporting kimchi has increased from 60 in 2011 to 87 in 2022, and exports have grown by an average of 10% annually over the past five years, with this year expected to set a record high. Furthermore, kimchi has elevated South Korea's status to the extent that November 22 has been designated as Kimchi Day in 13 regions across 4 countries overseas, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

Jung Hwang-geun, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "Kimchi is emerging as a cultural icon to people around the world beyond just being a food," and urged, "Please do your best to ensure that the pride of being the origin country of kimchi, passed down by our ancestors, continues into the future."

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