428 Anbandegi-gil, Wangsan-myeon, 특별자치도 Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
How is it produced?
Kimchi is traditionally produced in the Gangwon-Do province of South Korea and traces roots back to the Anbandeogi village. The traditional method involves harvesting the winter cabbage and a troop of usually women manufacture the Kimchi using traditional methods. Additionally, Kimchi is mass produced in China in factories harbouring cheap labour practices in the Qingao rigion of China. This is mass produced “Knockoff Kimchi”.
Describe the supply chain to the store shelf in Canada:
The supply chain is either from traditional practices or factories in China that use rafrigerated cargo holds to ship the Kimchi by boat. Then is arrives via Vancouver or Montreal’s harbour and then into indipendant or commercial grocery stores.
What is the power balance between the producer and seller?
The power balance is currently poor, with the mass production happening in China, the traditional methods of Kimchi craftsmanship are being faded into obscurity due to mass production. Currently, the producers have all the control and have flooded the market with cheap quick made manufactured Kimchi.
Can you recommend changes to the system to improve the balance?
There are environmental changes that would make consumers aware of the carbon footprint, as well as the over manufacturing of Kimchi. This may sway consumers to buy real, traditional Kimchi and not manufactured sludge marketed as Kimchi.
References/Resources:
Bastille Post. (2024). Chinese kimchi producers ramp up output as overseas demand soars. Bastille Post en.wikipedia.org+2en.unesco.org+2ich.unesco.org+2bastillepost.com.
Cambridge University Press. (2017). From Chianti to Kimchi: Geographical Indications, Intangible Cultural Heritage and their unsettled relationship with cultural diversity. kci.go.kr+2cambridge.org+2researchgate.net+2
FreshPlaza. (2025). South Korea’s kimchi imports reach record high. FreshPlaza freshplaza.com.
Grand View Research. (2024). China kimchi market size & outlook 2024–2030. grandviewresearch.com+1grandviewresearch.com+1
Grand View Research. (2024). Global kimchi market size & outlook 2024–2030.
Quartz. (2018, January 19). The kimchi you eat outside of Korea is probably made in China. Quartz en.wikipedia.org
ResearchGate. (2020). Geographical Indications and the Kimchi case. 한국학술지인용색인 kci.go.kr
UNESCO. (n.d.). Kimjang, making and sharing kimchi in the Republic of Korea. academia.edu+2ich.unesco.org+2en.unesco.org+2
Yahoo! Finance / Technavio. (2024). Kimchi market growth analysis 2025–2029. journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com+13technavio.com+13finance.yahoo.com+13
Financial Times. (2024). From steel to kimchi, South Korean exporters face flood of Chinese rivals. Financial Times ft.com