Trade statistics released by South Korea's Customs Office recently show that kimgee's trade deficit in 2017 was 50.3 billion won (about 300 million yuan).RMB), an increase of 11% over 2016. This is not only the record high since the implementation of relevant statistics in 2000, but also the first time that the deficit has broken through the mark of 50 billion won. At the same time, kimgee's gap between import and export has also set a new record-South Korea imported 275600 tons of kimchi in 2017, 10 times the amount exported, 99% of which was Chinese kimchi, while exports were only 24, 000 tons. the deficit has exceeded the all-time high set in 2016.
The biggest advantage of Chinese kimchi is its price. Due to the high quality and low price of kimchi made in China, it has a competitive advantage compared with kimchi made in Korea, so it is widely accepted by South Korean people. According to the Korea Agricultural and Aquatic Food Circulation Commune, kimgee's export price is $3.36 per kilogram in 2016, while the imported kimchi price is only $0.50 per kilogram.
On the other hand, kimgee's export prices have been rising every year since 2007, but the price of imported kimchi has remained basically unchanged. The Korea Agricultural and Aquatic Food Circulation Corporation said that Chinese kimchi is basically used in restaurants and other catering places in South Korea, which further stimulates the import of kimchi.
Zhu Guishun, a 67-year-old lady who sells hand-pickled kimchi in a market in Seoul, said calmly,'as a kimchi practitioner, I am very upset to see that Chinese kimchi is being used in our own restaurants and families in South Korea. But this is also impossible. The impact of the Chinese economy on all aspects of Korean life is too great. Without Chinese goods, it is difficult for me to live.
In 2014, for example, South Korean kimchi exports to China totaled US $16439, while Chinese kimchi exports to South Korea totaled US $104 million, a difference of 6340 times, according to the Korea Agricultural and Aquatic Food Circulation Co., Ltd.
In 2013, South Korea exported only $108 of kimchi to China, which is almost negligible.
Choosing a "foreign name" can't save kimgee.
The difficulty for kimgee to enter China mainly lies in China's strict control over the hygiene standards of imported food.
Kimgee is classified as pickled food in China, and no more than 10 E. coli communities can be detected in each unit of food. For South Korea's traditional kimchi production process, such hygiene standards are difficult to fully meet.
Kimgee's exports to China hit an astonishing bottom in 2013. In order to create a high-end brand image and improve kimgee's recognition in Chinese-speaking areas, South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries decided to name kimgee "Xinqi" as its Chinese name.
Kimgee has accumulated a good reputation for marketing in the English world with the Korean pronunciation of "Kimchi" (also known as "Kimichi") over the years. The Chinese name "Xinqi" obviously intends to replicate its success in Europe and the United States.
The staff of the South Korean Embassy in Beijing explained that due to the lack of a unified name for kimgee in the Chinese world, China often uses general terms such as "cabbage kimchi,"spicy cabbage" or "Korean kimchi." the South Korean side believes that the Chinese name "Xinqi" helps to emphasize the uniqueness and inherent nature of kimgee.
At the same time, the pronunciation of "Xinqi" is the same as that of Chinese "novelty", which can give people the impression of "slightly spicy but novel and delicious food from Korea".
The Korea Agricultural and Aquatic Food Circulation Commune hoped to apply for the trademark name of "Xinqi" in China at that time. However, half a year after the trial of naming, Chinese consumers' acceptance of "Xinqi" is very low, and most of the relevant promotion plans have run aground.
Documents from the Korea Agricultural and Aquatic Food Circulation Commune have indicated that Chinese cabbage is kimgee's most important raw material. However, in order to match the marketing of "Xinqi", the agency once changed the ingredients of the raw materials to "Xinqi kimchi".
Unfortunately, these well-prepared marketing plans have failed to substantially increase kimgee's marketing popularity in the Chinese market.
Kimgee's culture is gradually lost.
So far, the UNESCO list of human heritage contains a total of 7 culinary cultural heritages, including kimgee, French cuisine and Mediterranean cuisine.
In the process of applying for heritage in South Korea at that time, the emphasis was not on the production technology and flavor of kimchi, but on the connotation of "overwintering kimchi culture".
Korean aunts are used to teaching daughter-in-law pickled pickles hand in hand as an important tradition to promote harmonious family relations between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Gwangju, the hometown of kimchi in South Korea, holds a kimchi festival that lasts for a month every year.
Unfortunately, Korean kimchi culture is gradually disappearing, and the traditional family workshop atmosphere is becoming more and more difficult to see in modern society.
Hong Jinkuan, CEO of Xinqi Company in South Korea, said that when she was young, Korean neighbors would communicate with each other to help make kimchi, and few people would think of kimchi being used to buy kimchi. But now, the pace of social life is so fast that people really don't have the energy to pickle kimchi themselves after work and are used to buying packaged kimchi.
Hong Jinkuan believes that this is the same reason that people now like to buy mineral water rather than boil it themselves. While it is convenient for people to improve their efficiency, kimgee culture is also disappearing.
"I have always been proud of kimchi culture, but the fact that kimchi is losing its place in society makes me a little sad. "
Another kimchi chef, ou, has long believed that Chinese kimchi is occupying the South Korean market at a low price. If it is not protected, kimgee's cultural tradition may be lost, which is not sensational.