Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Korean Culture and Information Service

gettyimagesbank

Q. Is kimchi still a staple dish in Korea? Do Koreans eat it as much as they once did?

A. It’s fair to say kimchi is still the quintessential Korean side dish, although kimchi consumption has decreased over the past decades.

Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs released a meaningful report about kimchi consumption among Koreans. It found that the average Korean eats 37 kilograms of kimchi every year. Forty-three percent of Korean households still make kimchi at home, while the remaining 52 percent purchase it at stores or get it from their acquaintances.

Making spicy, fermented kimchi requires a great deal of knowhow and accumulated knowledge to master the proper portions of the various ingredients used in the dish.

Because of the delicate nature of kimchi making, even full-time housewives find it challenging to make kimchi on their own. Among Koreans, there is a unique culture of sharing kimchi. Parents usually give their home-made kimchi to their adult children. It’s common for married children to receive kimchi regularly from their mothers.

The painstaking process of making kimchi has led to a flourishing kimchi industry. As of 2019, there were 619 kimchi producers.

Amid an increase of one-person households, young people buy kimchi at supermarkets or convenience stores since they can’t consume large amounts quickly on their own.

It’s true that kimchi consumption has decreased in Korea over the past few decades as consumer tastes have grown more accustomed to instant food. Among young Koreans, sweet and salty types of food are popular, replacing spicy dishes such as kimchi. Despite this, fermented spicy kimchi is still a key side dish in many Korean households.

**“Ask Us about Korea” is a Q&A section about Korea and Korean culture. If you have any relevant questions, please send us an email (KOCIS@korea.kr). We’ll choose one of the questions sent by our readers and answer it in this section.**