• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.129-141
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• 2019

The modernization process of Korea, which can be considered westernization, has influenced Korean folk culture. In this process the kimchi culture could be destroyed. However the kimchi culture has survived very well to date. This study was conducted to investigate the cause of this survival of the kimchi culture. To accomplish this, the enormous influence of modernization on kimchi culture and the cause of its successful survival was investigated in the middle region of the Korean peninsula. We think that the kimchi culture can survive because of the inherent system and structure. Kimchi is composed of vegetables, salt, seasoning, and salted seafood (jeotgal), which are systemized. We also described the kimchi ethnography in this region to study the regional characteristics. The eastern coast uses a different method to salt the cabbage during the production of Kimchi, namely it uses seawater to accomplish this. Additionally, pollak broth is used instead of jeotgal. However nowadays the regional uniqueness of kimchi culture has greatly disappeared in large part, and Korean kimchi is standardized in this region.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.184-200
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• 2019

This study aims to establish a strategy for selling kimchi to satisfy the needs and wants of European consumers through survey, FGI, and IDI. All survey participants were Europeans and were selected on the basis of their kimchi awareness. For the quantitative survey, 246 participants 15 years or older were selected; for FGI, 33 participants aged between 20 and 49 were selected; and for IDI, eight chefs were selected. The survey included four steps of 'Awareness-First try-Needs-Future consumption'. The participants got to know kimchi through the Internet; for example, by visiting Korea and Hallyu, and suggested positive comments, including 'fancy' and 'exotic.' While satisfaction with kimchi sharply decreased due to taste and appearance in the first try of kimchi, it is important to provide the best first-try experience. It also showed that important needs for kimchi are 'hot sensation', 'crunchiness' and 'presentation'. They gave a negative answer to combination with traditional cuisines of their own country, but provided positive comments for benchmarking the use of traditional pickled foods. This study suggests that it may be necessary to implement a two-track strategy by the traditional kimchi as a 'strategic product' and localized kimchi as a 'key product'.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.93-111
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• 2019

This paper provides a comprehensive description of previous studies of making and developing kimchi in terms of the origins of kimchi and the changes in the history of kimchi, along with newly discovered data, including the collection of works in Joseon Dynasty as well as old cookbooks discovered after the year 2000, and latest research in related disciplines, e.g., ancient history studies, archeology, and linguistics. Because new ruins and relics, such as the Liao-ho Civilization in the Northeast Asia continent, which was closely related to Dongyi tribes, have been discovered and studied, it is important to determine how to reflect the outcome of archeological studies on the origin of preserved vegetables. In addition, to describe the background and changes in the independent formation of making Korean kimchi chronologically, they were divided into the following: development from jjanji to singunji; formation of the basis for seokbakji dressed with fermented fish sauce; settlement of seokbakji culture for dressing seokbakji with fermented fish sauce and spices, including chili varieties when they were introduced; and establishment of the method for making whole cabbage kimchi, which is currently typical kimchi made by adding the seokbakji as the stuffing of the cabbage kimchi, to examine the time and specific details of the change.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.623-634
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• 2018

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of the pre- and post-harvest variable factors on the processed product of kimchi cabbage. Two kimchi cabbage cultivars, namely 'Chungwang' and 'Dongpung,' were grown in a field and under a plastic greenhouse condition and stored at $5^{\circ}C$ after harvesting with and without low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film packaging. Growths were determined after harvesting while salting characteristics were determined after the processing and storage. The results show that the height, weight and leaf thickness were higher in kimchi cabbages grown in the greenhouse than those grown in the field. The plastic house culture increased the kimchi cabbage growth of the head weight, head height and leaf thickness compared with that of the open field culture. However, the osmolality and firmness were higher in the outdoor cultivated kimchi cabbages. Kimchi cabbage packed in film covered sacks and stored at $5^{\circ}C$ showed lower weight loss than unpacked cabbages during storage. Salt concentration and pH were also affected by the different pre- and post-harvest factors after salting the kimchi cabbages. Salt concentrations of the kimchi cabbage were influenced by various factors such as the cultivars, cultivation methods and storage covering. Though the present findings showed a limited difference in salt concentration and pH between the cultivars of kimchi cabbages, this study suggests that there is a relationship between processed agricultural products and their pre- and post-harvest methods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.159-167
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to provide basic information to improve understanding of contemporary kimchi culture in Korea. Many Koreans are now purchasing kimchi at markets, while the proportion of self-preparation is gradually decreasing. This commodification tendency of kimchi is considered to be associated with changes in consumer's behavior and attitude. In this study, a linear regression and a logistic regression model were used to identify relationships between kimchi consumption behavior and household characteristics. The results showed that the probability of kimjang activity was positively related with family size, possession of a kimchi refrigerator, self-preparation practice, and the intensity of sharing behavior. I also found that kimchi consumption volume per capita of 'purchasing' household was greater than that of 'self-preparing ' or 'sharing-dependent' households, and that the number of family members was inversely related with kimchi consumption volume per capita. The inverse relationship between family size and kimchi consumption volume per capita is considered to be contrary to the widespread thoughts in Korea, which have been developed while experiencing kimchi preparation and consumption in traditional extended families. I think that the relationship comes from differences in menu varieties, which appear to vary with family size. This issue will be investigated in subsequent studies.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 1997

This research follows the previous research on Kimchi Culture for the Koreans in Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS) and the purpose of this research was to investigate the habits with Kimchi of the Koreans in CIS. The research was carried out with items of the preparation and the preservation of Kimchi. The results were summarized as follows : 1. Abut 95% of above 30 years old of the respondents prepared Kimchi for their family. But 51.9% of under 30 years old and the forth generation of the respondents got Kimchi without self preparation. 2. All the respondents argued that the procedure of Kimchi preparation of the present indifferent from that of the past. 3. 40.2% of the respondents used to take Kimchi after 2~3 days from the preparation and 29.1% used to take after 1~2 days. 52.8% of the respondents would like to eat the well-matured Kimchi and 45.2% to eat Kimchi which was immediately prepared. 4. The most popular container for keeping was the enamel pot and the most popular places for keeping was the refrigerator. The popular keeping containers were a wooden box(61.2%), a earthen vessel(20.1%), a plastic vessel(14.7%) and the popular keeping places were a underfloor(37.9%), veranda (25.0%), underearth(22.9%) in order.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.203-216
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• 2023

Kimchi, a centuries-old Korean fermented food, has gained global popularity due to increased interest in Korean cuisine. However, little is known about the actual status of kimchi information provided by major foreign online encyclopedias. In this study, we analyzed the content and quality of kimchi information in major foreign online encyclopedias, such as Baidu Baike, Encyclopædia Britannica, Citizendium, and Wikipedia. Our results revealed that the kimchi information provided by these encyclopedias was often inaccurate or inadequate, despite kimchi being a fundamental part of Korean cuisine. The most common inaccuracies were related to the definition and origins of kimchi and its ingredients and preparation methods. Our findings highlight the need for more accurate and reliable information about kimchi in major foreign online encyclopedias. This is particularly important in the context of promoting Korean food culture and increasing international awareness of kimchi. To achieve this, the collaborative efforts of Korean food experts and online encyclopedias are needed to ensure the accurate representation of kimchi in these resources. In conclusion, our study shows that foreign online encyclopedias often contain incomplete, inaccurate information about kimchi. This shortcoming must be addressed to promote a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of kimchi and Korean cuisine.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.418-428
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• 2022

Research on the birth (起源) and names (語源) of foods such as kimchi is important to understand traditional food culture. kimchi, an 'add flavored, fermented, pickled, vegetable food' was initially prepared with the simple purpose of increasing storage capabilities, but later, through a complex process of change, morphological diversification occurred. In addition to the basic name of 'kimchi', each variety has its unique name and history. This study was conducted through qualitative research using various research methods, such as oral records and interviews, as well as investigation of data from literature, including ancient literature, modern cookbooks, newspapers, magazines, papers, and videos. The study sought to investigate the context and the meaning of the name Chonggak kimchi. In addition, it is a compilation of how the name spread through the ages and evolved to its current name. The name Chonggak kimchi did not exist during the Joseon Dynasty and Japanese occupation and first appeared in the records in the late 1950s. Nevertheless, the original name of 'Altarimu kimchi' evolved and finally became a part of the standard Korean language (標準語) in 1988. In the process of the name spreading and becoming popular, the movie "Chonggak kimchi (1964)," starring Shin, S.I., and Eom, A.R. played a significant role. It was also confirmed that this was a meaningful and valuable case of contentization of traditional food culture, regardless of the intention behind the same.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.533-538
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• 2020

To investigate the effect of the predominant microorganisms in kimchi on quality, Leuconostoc mesenteroides ATCC 8293 was used as starter culture during kimchi fermentation. A higher number of lactic acid bacteria and lower initial pH were observed in starter kimchi than in non-starter kimchi in the early stage of fermentation. The concentrations of the main metabolite, lactic acid, were 69.88 mM and 83.85 mM for the non-starter and starter fermented kimchi, respectively. The free sugar concentrations of starter kimchi decreased earlier than those of non-starter kimchi, and the levels of free sugars in both kimchi samples decreased during fermentation. At the end of fermentation, non-starter kimchi had a softer texture than starter kimchi, suggesting that L. mesenteroides is useful in extending shelf life. Sensory evaluation showed that starter kimchi had higher sourness and lower bitterness and astringency values, resulting in high sensory quality. These results suggest that the L. mesenteroides ATCC 8293 strain could be a potential starter culture in kimchi.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.166-182
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• 2020

Kimchi industry in Korea has grown rapidly with the increasing domestic and overseas demand of Kimchi. Currently, there is an increase trend of consuming the commercial Kimchi products, although the Kimchi consumption/adult/year is decreasing (36.6 kg in 2018). The amount of commercial Kimchi consumption in 2018 was 757,000 M/T (metric ton), out of 1,892,000 M/T of the estimated total consumption, and the size of Kimchi market was estimated to be 1,398 billion wons. In 2019, 29,628 M/T of Kimchi was exported to 78 countries, and 306,047 M/T was imported, mainly from China. In the future, for the technological upgrading of Kimchi plants, a large capital investment to the production of commercial Kimchi will be required. The accelerated glocalization of Kimchi will bring a steady increase in Kimchi export. Moreover, with the development of global Kimchi culture, the values and images of Korean national brand can be greatly improved.