Kimchi Paocai, Korean or Joseon Language?… iPhone Translation App Mistranslation

"Increasing Demand for Korean Content Translation"
"Misinterpretations Must Be Corrected"

Various translation errors related to Korean culture have been found in the translation app built into Apple iPhones, causing concern.

Professor Seokyung Deok of Sungshin Women's University stated on his Facebook on the 28th, "After receiving reports from Koreans around the world about the iPhone translation app and checking it, we found various mistranslations." A representative error is the translation of 'Kimchi.' When translated into Chinese, Kimchi appears as '韓式泡菜 (Korean-style Pao Cai).' However, 'Pao Cai (泡菜)' is a Chinese-style pickled vegetable that is completely different from Kimchi. Also, when translating 'Korean' into Japanese, instead of the correct expression '韓?語 (Kankokugo, Korean language),' it shows '朝鮮語 (Chosengo, Joseon language).'

Professor Se emphasized, "It is unacceptable for such errors to occur in the iPhone's built-in translation app, which has many users worldwide," adding, "As the Korean Wave spreads globally and translations of Korean cultural content increase, these mistranslations must be corrected." He also said, "Even Google Translate, used by billions worldwide, still translates 'Kimchi' into Chinese as 'Pao Cai.' We will continue to protest to correct the errors in both Google and iPhone translations."

[Image source=Seokyungdeok, Professor at Sungshin Women's University, Facebook]

Previously, as Kimchi gained global popularity, China made the unfounded claim that "Kimchi originated from China's Pao Cai, so China is the homeland of Kimchi." In November 2020, China's state-run media Global Times claimed that Pao Cai received international standard certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and argued that "China's Kimchi industry has become the standard in the international Kimchi market," sparking controversy.

Kimchi and Pao Cai differ significantly in ingredients, manufacturing methods, and fermentation processes. Kimchi is made by combining napa cabbage with various vegetables, adding chili peppers and fish sauce, and fermenting slowly at low temperatures. In contrast, Pao Cai is made by soaking napa cabbage, radish, carrot, cucumber, chili, ginger, and garlic in brine and fermenting at high temperatures.

Park Chaerin, a senior researcher at the World Kimchi Research Institute, emphasized Kimchi's uniqueness in an article titled "Fermentation of Food, Fermentation of Thought," published in the Northeast Asian History Report in April last year. She stated, "Kimchi, which has a complete flavor without additional heating or cooking, is optimized for Korean table settings." She also pointed out, "Since the pickling agents of China and Korea are completely different, it is difficult to see Chinese influence," and criticized the claim that China transmitted vegetable pickling technology to Korea during the late Eastern Han period as lacking evidence.

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