Kimchi no more? Climate change puts South Korea's beloved cabbage dish at risk

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — South Korea's famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures.

Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 deg C.

Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat.

"We hope these predictions don't come to pass," plant pathologist and virologist Lee Young-gyu said.

"Cabbage likes to grow in cool climate and adapts to a very narrow band of temperatures," he said. "The optimal temperatures are between 18 and 21 Celsius."

In the fields and in kitchens — both commercial and domestic — farmers and kimchi makers are already feeling the change.

Spicy, fermented kimchi is made from other vegetables such as radish, cucumber and green onion, but the most popular dish remains cabbage-based.

Describing the effect of higher temperatures on the vegetable, Lee Ha-yeon, who holds the designation of Kimchi Master from the Agriculture Ministry, said the heart of the cabbage "goes bad, and the root becomes mushy".

"If this continues, then in the summer time we might have to give up cabbage kimchi," said Ms Lee, whose title reflects her contribution to food culture.

Data from the government statistics agency shows the area of highland cabbage farmed in 2023 was less than half of what it was 20 years ago: 3,995 ha compared to 8,796 ha.

According to the Rural