Falling exports to Japan, rise of China-made variety
韓国産「キムチ」の危機
―日本への輸出減少と中国産の台頭―
Asked what Korea’s representative pickle is, almost everyone will mention kimchi. Available also at supermarkets and convenience stores in Japan, it may well be called a standard family dish. According to the news website “sirabee” run by HAKUHODO Inc., 60.9% of 45,000 Japanese males and females aged between 20s and 60s replied they like kimchi, indicating that many Japanese people are familiar with the food. The popularity of kimchi is not necessarily limited to Japan. As a matter of fact, kimjang, the traditional process of preparation and preservation of kimchi that takes place across Korea in late autumn, was registered as intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO in 2013. Kimchi is now a Korean dish well known all over the world just like Japan’s sushi.
韓国を代表する漬物といえば、キムチ。日本のスーパーやコンビニに並ぶ「食卓の定番」といってよい。博報堂のニュースサイト「しらべぇ」によると、日本の２０〜６０代男女 ４万５千人のうち、６０・９％が「好き」と回答。多くの日本人がキムチに親しんでいることが分かる。キムチ人気は日本ばかりではない。韓国の晩秋の年中行事、キムチ漬けの風習「キムジャン」が２０１３年、国連教育科学文化機関（ＵＮＥＳＣＯ.）の無形文化遺産に登録されており、日本の寿司のように、キムチは世界にも知られる韓国料理にもなった。
However, Korean kimchi exports have been declining in volume in contrast to rapidly growing imports. According to the Korea Customs Service, the country imported more than 275,000 tons of kimchi in 2017. Most of the quantity (99%) came from China. Korea exported only 24,000 tons, suffering a deficit of US$47.3 million (about ￥5.24 billion) in value terms. The deficit was up 11% over the previous year, the biggest fall since 2000 when the service began collecting statistics.
しかし、韓国産のキムチだが、韓国の対外輸出量は低迷し、逆に輸入量が急増している。韓国関税庁によると、１７年のキムチ輸入量は２７万５０００トン超で、そのほぼすべて（９９％）が中国産だった。これに対し韓国産の輸出量は２万４０００トンにとどまり、金額にして４７３０万ドル（約５２億４０００万円）の赤字となった。この赤字幅は前年比 １１％増と、統計を開始した２０００年以来最大を記録したという。
The Chinese information website Record China reported in January that kimchi now available on the Korean market are mostly imports from China. It said the fall of Korean kimchi was due primarily to slumped exports to Japan, the country’s biggest trading partner. Korea’s kimchi exports to Japan, which totaled more than 20,000 tons (about 84% of the total exports) in 2010, plunged to less than 14,000 tons in 2016. A weak yen and the slow economic growth in Japan were to blame for the setback. Another factor seemed to be the growing popularity of Japanese-made kimchi.
中国情報サイトＲｅｃｏｒｄ Ｃｈｉｎａによると、今年１月、韓国に出回っているキムチのほとんどが中国産に切り替わっているとし、韓国産キムチの輸出低迷のおもな原因が、最大の貿易相手国、日本への輸出急減にある、と報じた。これによると、２０１０年に２万トン台（輸出全体の約８４％）だった日本向け輸出が、１６年には１万４０００トンを割り込むまで激減している。円安や日本国内経済の低迷などもあるが、日本産キムチの普及もあるようだ。
Furthermore, the growing consumption of Chinese-made kimchi in Korea comes from its price. According to Hong Kong’s Toutiao (Headline Daily), Korean-made kimchi were priced at US$3.36 (about ￥370) per kilogram in 2016 whereas Chinese-made kimchi were priced at only US$0.5 (￥55). Probably for that reason, 89.9% of kimchi purchased by restaurants in Korea in 2016 were imports from China, according to the World Institute of Kimchi, a Gwangju-headquartered organization devoted to research and development related to kimchi.
また、韓国内での中国産キムチの消費拡大の最大の理由は、その価格にある。「今日頭条」によれば、韓国産キムチは１６年に１キロ当たり３・３６ドル（約３７０円）に対し、中国産は同０．５ドル（約５５円）と、圧倒的な安さになっている。そのためか、韓国の「世界キムチ研究所」（Ｗｏｒｌｄ Ｉｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅ ｏｆ Ｋｉｍｃｈｉ）によると、１６年に韓国国内の飲食店が購入したキムチは８９．９％が中国産だという。
Korea’s traditional kimchi culture appears to be waning amid the rise of low-priced Chinese imports and the falling exports to Japan.
(Written by: Yuto Yawata)
最大の輸出先である日本向けの落ち込みに加え、安価な中国産のキムチの台頭で、韓国の「キムチ文化」は衰微傾向にあるように思える。 (八幡侑斗)