Chinese kimchi dominates Korean dining tables...310,000 tons imported, the largest amount ever

It has been reported that the price of Chinese cabbage in South Korea last year soared due to the heatwaves, resulting in the highest imports of Chinese kimchi ever.
The report also said that of the 367,158 tons of kimchi imported last year, 311,157 tons was from China, worth US$176.93 million.
This is the largest amount since the Korea Food and Drug Safety Agency announced the status of kimchi imports in 2017.
Imports from China are increasing year by year. In 2023, China's kimchi imports were recorded at 287,179 tons.
In 2022, 263,502 tons were imported. In particular, kimchi imports from China have recovered to the level before the "naked kimchi" incident. In 2021, a man was found naked pickling cabbage at a kimchi factory in China.
After this image was made public, a movement to refuse Chinese kimchi spread, including people refusing to eat Chinese kimchi at restaurants.
In fact, the amount of Chinese kimchi imported was 275,630 tons in 2017, 291,225 tons in 2018, and
After recording an increasing trend of 306,617 tons in 2019, it decreased to 281,021 tons in 2020 and 243,100 tons in 2021.
However, last year's record heat and heavy rains caused the price of Chinese cabbage to soar, leading to a surge in sales at traditional markets and local supermarkets.
As the price of a bag of Chinese cabbage in Korea and other markets soared to over 20,000 won, imports of cheap Chinese kimchi increased.
"It will be difficult to keep prices down this year, and imports of Chinese kimchi will likely increase even more."