Why Selling Kimchi as Paocai... Controversy Over Famous Japanese Chain Store

Chinese Mistranslation on Kiosk Menu
"Demand for Prompt Correction"

There is controversy over a famous Japanese restaurant listing kimchi on its menu using the Chinese term 'pao cai.'

On the 24th, Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University opened his statement on his social media account, saying, "Famous Japanese rice bowl chains such as Yoshinoya and Matsuya are causing controversy by translating Korea's 'kimchi' as China's 'pao cai' (泡菜)." He added, "This mistranslation can be seen when changing the language to Chinese on the kiosk menu where customers order directly. Many netizens reported this to me, and since these chains have branches worldwide beyond Japan, I immediately sent protest emails."

It has been revealed that famous Japanese donburi chain restaurants translated kimchi as pao cai. Professor Seokyeongdeok Facebook

He continued, "In the protest emails, I conveyed that 'Korea's kimchi and China's pao cai are distinctly different foods. Please correct this incorrect notation promptly to prevent misunderstanding among users worldwide,'" adding, "To aid quick understanding, I even attached a video clearly explaining the differences between kimchi and pao cai." He also stated, "In 2021, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism partially revised the 'Guidelines for Foreign Language Translation and Notation of Public Terms,' specifying the correct Chinese notation for kimchi as 'xin qi' (辛奇). The widespread mistranslation of kimchi as 'pao cai' around the world only provides a pretext for China's 'kimchi process'." Finally, Professor Seo emphasized, "Correcting such errors is the first true step toward the globalization of Korean cuisine."

'Pao cai' (泡菜) is a Chinese-style pickled vegetable entirely different from kimchi, but this mistranslation is not new. In August, Professor Seo reported, "Koreans worldwide have reported issues with the iPhone translation app," stating, "When translating kimchi into Chinese, it appears as '韓式泡菜' (Korean-style pao cai)." He added, "It is unacceptable for such errors to occur in the iPhone's built-in translation app, which has many users worldwide. As the Korean Wave spreads globally and translations of Korean cultural content increase, these mistranslations must be corrected. I will continue to protest consistently to rectify these errors."

Meanwhile, Professor Seo, as a Korean public relations expert, actively sends protest emails to related organizations regarding historical issues with Japan and China. On the 17th, he reported protesting against the global camping gear company 'Polar Stuff' for using the Rising Sun flag pattern on its official website.

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