But Japanese kimchi makers contend that once ethnic dishes gain international popularity, they are usually altered to fit the local palate. Everyone knows that curry was invented in India, but the curry that Indians eat is quite different from the curry that Japanese eat. What is really behind South Korea's campaign to strictly define kimchi, Japanese manufacturers said, is an effort to gain a larger share of the rapidly expanding Japanese kimchi market. Between 1996 and 1998 annual kimchi production in Japan doubled to about 200,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. During the same period, kimchi imports from Korea to Japan increased to 15,000 tons from 10,000 tons, but they still only account for about 10 percent of the total Japanese market.
Korean producers can sell their kimchi at a considerable markup in Japan.
The Korean kimchi argument has found some support in Japan. Mitsuo Ikeda, managing director of Lotte Bussan Company, a Japan-based food distributor that has been importing Korean kimchi, said it makes sense to adhere to the strict Korean standard. Lotte's snack packages of Korean kimchi, which are sold at 7-Eleven stores in Japan, have proved very popular. Eiji Fukuda, an official of Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, said he believed there was ample room for both domestic and imported kimchi in the Japanese market. It's delicious, but for the Japanese it is difficult to eat it every morning, and I understand some Japanese might feel they better not eat it before going to meet people.