① Americans making their own Kimchi
Kimchi is gaining great popularity in the U.S. More and more Americans are making Kimchi at home. Kyle, who lives in Los Angeles and was introduced on MBC News, learned about Kimchi after marrying a Korean.
He said making and eating Kimchi is tastier and healthier than buying it.
To make Kimchi, Kyle grinds onions, garlic, ginger, and apples in a blender, then adds a spoonful of red pepper powder and plum syrup for seasoning. He showed his love for Kimchi by making it at home.
He said, “This dietary fiber product aids digestion, but I don’t need to eat it. The doctor said it’s because I eat Kimchi.” He also introduced the benefits of Kimchi.
A restaurant in downtown LA selling Kimchi fried rice is drawing big crowds. The line in front of the restaurant is often full of customers. Locals enjoyed the takeout kimchi fried rice in the park. On TikTok, you can see videos of foreigners making their own Kimchi.
Recently, there has been growing interest in cucumber kimchi on TikTok.
Recipes for cucumber kimchi have been consistently uploaded since March 2021. If you search for cucumber kimchi on TikTok, you can see many videos with high view counts.
Chef and food influencer Mi Noyen, who has 3.9 million followers, shared content about cucumber kimchi, saying she “fell deep into cucumber kimchi.”
Forbes, a leading U.S. business magazine, reported that “cucumber kimchi is the recent Korean food trend that has swept TikTok.”
② Kimchi is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.
Kimchi is gradually becoming mainstream in the U.S. The kimchi export market is growing significantly.
It nearly doubled from $80 million in 2017 to $140 million last year. The volume also grew from 23,000 tons in 2010 to 41,000 tons last year, a 75% increase.
Kimchi, in particular, has gained even more popularity after COVID-19. As it is recognized as an immune-boosting food, its awareness has skyrocketed in the U.S. Moreover, Kimchi is getting more attention thanks to the Korean Wave, including Korean dramas and movies.
Daesang is responsible for half of Korea’s kimchi exports. In the past three years, the U.S. has been the country where Daesang’s ‘Jongga Kimchi’ sales have increased the most rapidly. The U.S. is the second-largest market for Jongga Kimchi in the world.
The sales growth rate of Jongga Kimchi in the U.S. in 2022 compared to 2019 is 270%. As of last year, about 70% of the Kimchi exported from Korea to the U.S. was Jongga Kimchi. Since entering Walmart in 2021, local demand has dramatically increased.
Daesang completed the first kimchi factory in the food industry in the U.S. last year. They built a factory of about 32,292 square feet near the City of Industry in Los Angeles. They can produce 2,204.62 tons of Kimchi annually at this location. Daesang is the only domestic food company with large-scale kimchi production facilities in the U.S.
Daesang aims to achieve annual sales of $75 million in the U.S. local food business by 2025 by expanding facilities and equipment.
③ ‘Kimchi Day’ established in the U.S.
November 22 is Kimchi Day. It’s a legal holiday established in 2020 to announce that Korea is the home of Kimchi. The date was chosen to represent the 22 or more benefits created by the various ingredients in Kimchi.
Kimchi Day is spreading worldwide. In 2021, Kimchi Day was established in California, Virginia, New York, Michigan, and Washington D.C. in the U.S. In April, a resolution was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to designate a day commemorating Kimchi. Republican Representative Young Kim proposed a resolution expressing support for designating November 22 as Kimchi Day. A total of 10 representatives, including Korean-American representatives, participated in the resolution proposal.
The resolution states, “Kimchi is a traditional food of Korean cuisine with a long and rich history” and “2023 marks the 120th anniversary of the first arrival of Korean immigrants in the U.S. and the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-Korea alliance”. It also adds, “As can be seen from the increasing number of food and restaurant menus related to kimchi in the U.S. and the spreading interest in kimchi among consumers who are not of Korean descent, the growing interest and popularity of kimchi is a positive example of multicultural exchange.”
In July last year, a resolution to designate Kimchi Day was first introduced in the U.S. Congress led by Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney. Still, it was discarded at the end of the session.
By. Kim Min Jae
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