New Delhi:
UNESCO, UN’s cultural agency is considering Kimchi, a North Korean dish for bestowing it with the Intangible Cultural Heritage status soon. Kimchi is a traditional spicy and sour side dish to Korean communities which is prepared by fermenting vegetables, usually cabbage mixed with spices, including garlic, red chilly and ginger.
UNESCO has already bestowed the honour on the manufacture of the South Korean version of the pickled cabbage dish. Sour and often spicy, kimchi is a daily staple in both Koreas. It is often homemade and comes in many varieties. Not only this apart from the political rivalry going on between the two countries, intense rivalries also exist here over who has the best version of Kimchi.
Comparatively, North Korean kimchi is less red and less spicy than its southern cousin. “The tradition of Kimchi-making is an essential part in the life of Koreans, which finds its manifestation in every locals and season, and its community includes all Koreans,” UNESCO said in the nomination documents released earlier this month.
The tradition of making Kimchi contributes to social unity since it is practiced in the whole society involving neighborhoods, relatives, villages, organizations and localities as forms of communities.
Kimjang, the process by which most South Korean kimchi is made, was granted UNESCO status in 2013.
Kimchi is considered a super food by Koreans for its health benefits. The dish is also quite popular abroad, and in 2008 even went into space, with South Korean astronaut Ko San.
Intangible Cultural Heritage status is awarded to practices and arts that are - especially important to world heritage and cultural diversity, and deserve lasting protection.
Koreans share the joy of making the dish according to season, while helping each other with raw materials and in preparation. Koreans mostly get together in late November and early December to make enough kimchi to last through the peninsula's long hard winter.
While several other cultural traditions are also set to be approved, including the crafting of Portuguese cow bells, and bagpipe-playing in Slovakia.
