Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
■ Kim Jong Un wants to turn the art of kimchi-making into a science.
Kim trying to improve products for consumers
PYONGYANG, North Korea — Kim Jong Un wants to turn the art of kimchi-making into a science. And the North Korean leader is putting his money where his mouth is.
On the outskirts of Pyongyang, surrounded by snow-covered farms and greenhouses, stands one of Kim’s latest pet projects, the Ryugyong Kimchi Factory, which produces 4,200 tons of the iconic Korean pickled vegetable dish a year. The shiny new facility replaces an older factory and opened in June last year after getting Kim’s final seal of approval, according to manager Paek Mi Hye.
The factory is intended to showcase Kim’s efforts to boost North Korea’s domestic economy and produce more, and better, consumer products. His strategy, known as “byungjin,” aims to simultaneously develop the national economy and North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Applied science, according to the North’s policymakers, is absolutely essential on all fronts.
Kim has transformed the Pyongyang skyline with high-rise apartments to house his prized rocket scientists and nuclear engineers, and Paek stressed how even an ancient delicacy such as kimchi can benefit from scientific innovation.
Koreans North and South have been making kimchi for generations, often passing family recipes down from mother to daughter or motherin-law to daughter-in-law.
In 2015, UNESCO added kimchi to its “intangible cultural heritage of humanity” list, noting that the traditional sharing of know-how and materials to prepare large quantities of kimchi for the winter months “boosts cooperation among families, villages and communities, contributing to social cohesion.”
Paek acknowledged that some people might resist giving up the cherished tradition of communal kimchi-making. “But they also recognize the quality and reliability of our factory-made product,” she said.