South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the kimchi cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures.
Kimchi 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 degrees Celsius.
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 kimchi cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
“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,” Lee 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.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
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 Lee, whose title reflects her contribution to food culture.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
Data from the government statistics agency shows the area of highland cabbage farmed last year was less than half of what it was 20 years ago: 3,995 hectares compared to 8,796 hectares.
According to the Rural Development Administration, a state farming think tank, climate change scenarios project the farmed area to shrink dramatically in the next 25 years to just 44 hectares, with no cabbage grown in the highlands by 2090.
Researchers cite higher temperatures, unpredictable heavy rains and pests that become more difficult to control in the warmer and longer summers as the cause for the crop shrinkage.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
A fungal infection that wilts the plant has also been particularly troublesome for farmers because it only becomes apparent very close to harvest.
Climate change adds to the challenges facing South Korea’s kimchi industry, which is already battling lower-priced imports from China, which are mostly served in restaurants.
Customs data released on Sept. 2 showed kimchi imports through the end of July was up 6.9 percent at US$98.5 million this year, almost all of it from China and the highest ever for the period.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
So far, the government has relied on massive climate-controlled storage to prevent price spikes and shortages. Scientists are also racing to develop crop varieties that can grow in warmer climates and that are more resilient to large fluctuations in rainfall and infections.
But farmers like Kim Si-gap, 71, who has worked in the cabbage fields of the eastern region of Gangneung all his life, fear these varieties will be more expensive to grow in addition to not tasting quite right.
“When we see the reports that there will come a time in Korea when we can no longer grow cabbage, it was shocking on the one hand and also sad at the same time,” Kim said.
“Kimchi is something we cannot not have on the table. What are we going to do if this happens?”
(Reuters)
韓國著名的泡菜正成為氣候變化的受害者。隨處可見的泡菜，是由大白菜（kimchi cabbage）醃製而成。科學家、農民和製造商表示，由於氣溫上升，大白菜的品質和數量都受到了影響。
大白菜適合在涼爽的氣候中生長，通常種植在山區，夏季——其關鍵生長季節——溫度很少高於攝氏25度。
研究顯示，氣候變化所造成的溫暖天氣正威脅這些作物，南韓的氣溫最後可能會高到無法種大白菜。
「我們希望這些預測不會成真」，植物病理及病毒學家李永奎 （音譯）表示。
「大白菜喜歡在涼爽的氣候中生長，適應的溫度區間非常小」，他說。「最佳溫度是攝氏18到21度之間」。
在田間和廚房——無論是業者或家庭——農民和泡菜製造商都已感覺到這種變化。
辛辣、發酵的泡菜是用蘿蔔、黃瓜和蔥等蔬菜製作，但最受歡迎的還是以大白菜製成的泡菜。
擁有南韓農業部「泡菜大師」稱號的李夏妍表示，高溫讓大白菜的心「爛掉，根部也變軟」。
「如果這種情況繼續下去，那麼到了夏天我們可能不得不放棄大白菜泡菜」，李夏妍說。她的頭銜說明了她對飲食文化的貢獻。
政府統計機構的數據顯示，去年高地大白菜的種植面積為 3,995公頃，不到20年前8,796公頃的一半。
南韓國家農業智庫農村發展管理局預估，由於氣候變化，未來 25年耕地面積將大幅縮減至僅44公頃，到了2090年，高地將不再種植大白菜。
研究人員指出，升高的氣溫、難以預測的暴雨，以及因更暖、更長的夏季而變得更難控制的害蟲，是農作物減產的原因。
導致大白菜枯萎的真菌感染對農民來說也特別棘手，因為它只有在接近採收時才會變得明顯。
南韓泡菜產業已面臨中國進口低價泡菜的競爭，這些泡菜主要是供應餐廳。氣候變化則讓南韓泡菜產業的困境雪上加霜。
9月2日公佈的海關數據顯示，截至7月底，今年的泡菜進口量增加了6.9%，達到9,850萬美元，是這段期間的最高紀錄，且幾乎全部來自中國。
到目前為止，政府一直仰賴氣候控制下的大量儲存來防止價格飆升及供應短缺。科學家也在競相開發能在較暖氣候下生長，並對降雨及感染的大幅波動有較強適應力的品種。
但像71歲的金時葛（音譯）這樣一生都在江陵市東部地區大白菜田工作的農民擔心，這些品種不但味道不對，種植成本也會更高。
金時葛說：「當我們看到這報導，說有一天韓國將不能再種大白菜時，一方面感到震驚，同時也感到悲傷」。
「泡菜是我們餐桌上不可或缺的。如果這種情況發生，我們該怎麼辦？」
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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