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climate change is threatening south koreans' dining tables, and kimchi, which they regard as their "national dish," may become the main victim. british reuters reported on september 3 that in south korea, the harvest and quality of kimchi's raw material, chinese cabbage, are declining due to the high temperatures brought about by climate change.

kimchi is an indispensable food on the korean table every day. it is mainly made of pickled vegetables such as cabbage, radish, cucumber, etc. among them, the most popular kimchi ingredient among koreans is cabbage. according to botanists, cabbage likes to grow in a cool climate. the most suitable temperature for planting is between 18 and 21 degrees celsius, and the highest temperature should not exceed 25 degrees celsius.

now, reuters cited a study saying that high temperatures caused by climate change are threatening the growth of cabbage, and south korea may not be able to grow cabbage one day in the future.

currently, the area of ​​cabbage cultivation in south korea has shown a downward trend. according to the korean statistics bureau, in 2023, the area of ​​cabbage cultivation will be 3,995 hectares, less than half of 20 years ago. based on climate change, the rural revitalization administration of south korea predicts that the area of ​​cabbage cultivation in south korea will be greatly reduced to 44 hectares in the next 25 years. by 2090, cabbage will no longer be grown in the country's highlands.

high temperatures also affect the quality of chinese cabbage. researchers pointed out that in summer, high temperatures, heavy rains and insect pests become more difficult to control, resulting in reduced harvests and crop shrinkage. in particular, if chinese cabbage is infected with fungi, it is only easy to detect when it is about to be harvested.

in august 2024, "kimchi master" li haiyan was making kimchi with her apprentices. foreign media screenshot

lee ha-yeon, who was awarded the title of "kimchi master" by the south korean ministry of agriculture, found that the high temperatures caused the cabbage hearts to "go bad and the roots to become soft." she said that if this situation continues, koreans may have to give up eating cabbage kimchi in the summer.

"we saw reports that one day south korea will no longer be able to grow cabbage, which is shocking and sad," said kim si-ga, a 71-year-old south korean farmer who has been growing the crop all his life. kimchi is an indispensable item on the korean table, and if this happens, "we don't know what to do."

as early as 2022, due to climate change, south korea experienced a "kimchi crisis" caused by a shortage of cabbage supply. in order to solve the shortage of cabbage, south korea established a "cabbage bank" to increase inventory, and on the other hand, expanded imports to supplement the domestic market.

data released by the korea customs service on september 2 showed that from january to july this year, south korea's kimchi imports increased by 6.9% year-on-year to us$98.47 million, breaking the record of us$96.49 million in the same period of 2022, setting a new record. according to yonhap news agency, most of the kimchi imported by south korea comes from china.

the korea times reported last month, citing the korea customs service and market analysts, that while most korean consumers prefer domestic kimchi, more and more korean restaurants and food production companies are now choosing chinese kimchi over korean kimchi because it is more cost-effective.

"food suppliers don't want to scare away customers because of high prices." a food industry insider said that this year's hot summer has reduced the harvest of chinese cabbage, and the wholesale price has risen, and the price of domestic kimchi has also risen accordingly. according to reports, the price of chinese kimchi is about 1/6 of that of korean kimchi, and companies choose cheaper imported kimchi to reduce costs.

another market expert predicted that flooding and extreme heat this year are expected to reduce south korea's cabbage harvest by nearly half, which may further increase south korea's dependence on china for kimchi.

source | observer.com