S Korea's 'kimchi' feels the heat

The South Koreans have even sent kimchi into space

Sales of South Korea's national dish of fermented vegetables and spices have been hit by the economic downturn, leading to a dreaded "kimchi deficit".

The dish, which is so integral to Korean identity that there is a special museum dedicated to it in Seoul, is experiencing a trade deficit.

Domestic demand for the cheaper, Chinese-made version of the staple is thought to be affecting kimchi sales.

The country recently announced a campaign to promote Korean cuisine.

A report to South Korea's parliament found the trade deficit for the dish, usually made with fermented cabbage, radish and cucumbers combined with various spices, reached $77.3m over the last three years.

Chinese imports surged 376% from $29.4m in 2004 to $110.8m in 2007.

The kimchi slump comes just as South Korean exports were starting to regain consumer confidence after parasite eggs were discovered in some products in late 2005.

Chinese-made kimchi was also found to contain parasite eggs at the time.

Korean cooking

The campaign to promote Korean cuisine - launched by the agriculture ministry and the Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation - aims to quadruple the number of Korean restaurants around the world to 40,000 by 2017.

It will include spending $40m over the next two years to try to make Korean food as famous as French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Thai food.

There are plans to create Korean culinary schools abroad, develop and distribute standard recipes and introduce an official ratings system for overseas restaurants.