Koreans No Longer Make Kimchi at Home

Only one in five Korean households make their own kimchi as more and more people live alone and lockdown prevented families from gathering for the age-old winter custom.

According to a survey of 3,028 households by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation, just 22.6 percent of households prepared their own kimchi in 2021, a dramatic decline from 56.2 percent in 2017.

The proportion plunged alarmingly in lockdown, which kept families apart over the holidays, from 41.7 percent in 2019 to 23.6 percent in 2020.

The proportion who said they buy their kimchi soared apace, from 10.5 percent in 2017 to 33.1 percent in 2021, while 20.1 percent said they are given it by family members and 14.5 percent from friends or relatives.

Even among the elderly, only 36.4 percent still make their own kimchi, but that was three times higher than among 20-somethings.