A kimchi bottle sold in Spain features Japanese-style illustrations, potentially leading to further misidentification of ”K-food”

The 22nd of this month marks the anniversary of Korean Kimchi Day. It is said that "Kimchi is made up of 11 ingredients (each) that combine to produce 22 different (22) beneficial effects."
Following the Korea Agricultural and Fisheries Trade Corporation's establishment of the day in 2020 in South Korea, the Japan Anniversary Association has registered it as a commemorative day in Japan for 2023. Currently, people in various parts of South Korea are preparing for winter and celebrating until early spring.
In Europe, kimchi, a representative of K-food, is made in a Japanese style.
Koreans living in the area have raised concerns that the food is being sold with incorrect images and descriptions. Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University, who calls himself an expert on Korean culture, said, "K-food is a very dangerous product.
"Now that the word 'Kanji' is gaining global attention, it is important to preserve our cultural identity through accurate spelling and design."
The controversy is being caused by a product manufactured by a Spanish food company and sold in local supermarkets.
The label on the bottle features an illustration of a woman wearing a Japanese kimono. The words "Pao cai" (pao cai), a fermented food originating from Sichuan, China, are also printed on the bottle.
Regarding the Chinese spelling of "guru," the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Ministry is equivalent to a ministry) revised the "Guidelines for the Foreign Language Translation and Writing of Public Terms" in July 2022 to avoid confusion with "pao cai."
Professor Seo, who received information from an internet user about kimchi sauce, said, "I wonder if this kind of kimchi sauce is sold in Europe.
"If this is the case, people may mistake kimchi for Japanese food," he said, adding, "Korean kimchi and Chinese pao cai are clearly different." Seo also pointed out, "Using Japanese-style illustrations and Chinese characters like this is a problem.
"Kimchi is expected to be registered as an international food standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 2021, and is expected to be certified as such," he said.
It is recognized as a fermented vegetable food unique to Korea. However, in other countries, there have been cases where kimchi has been mistaken for a Japanese food. There is also a dispute over the origin of kimchi between China and Korea.
In February of this year, while the generative AI (artificial intelligence) developed by the Chinese startup DeepSeek was becoming a hot topic around the world, the South Korean National Intelligence Service
The results of technical testing on Deepseek were announced. When Deepseek was asked in Korean, "Where did kimchi originate?", it replied, "It's a representative food that embodies Korean culture and history."
However, when asked the same question in Chinese, they answered, "The country of origin is China, not Korea." Also, a large German mart chain recently posted a recipe on its website.
In the corner, the kimchi was introduced as "Japanese kimchi." A Korean resident in the area raised the issue with Professor Seo. Mr. Seo wrote on his SNS about this mega mart, "Sales are 45 trillion won (approximately 4.7 trillion won)
"It is a mega-mart group that represents the German distribution market, with sales of over 50 billion yen, and has expanded into European countries such as France, Spain, Denmark, and beyond Germany," he explained.
If this situation continues, people in Europe may mistakenly believe that kimchi is a Chinese or Japanese food, so it is essential that the labeling be changed to the correct one."
Regarding the recent spate of incidents in Europe that could lead to misunderstandings about kimchi, Mr. Seo explained the background, saying, "There is a low regard for Asian food and culture in Europe.
He pointed out the "poor understanding" and "reckless commercial use" of Korean food. He emphasized that "K-food has become competitive in the global market, so it is necessary to convey its history and identity."
"Starting next year, we plan to fully promote the 'Korean Food Globalization Campaign', focusing on Europe," he said. "We will strengthen our activities to properly convey the identity of kimchi and Korean food."
He revealed that: