By Xu Aiying and Kim Minji
Photos = World Institute of Kimchi

Korea's kimchi and food served at Buddhist temples are attracting growing interest among vegetarians in Britain.

The Gwangju-based World Institute of Kimchi (WiKim) on Sept. 12 and 14 held a kimchi exhibition and tasting event in London under the theme "Korea's vegetarian diet, kimchi and fermented food."

Kimchi is considered Korea's leading dish that symbolizes the country's diverse vegetable culture. Buddhist temple food contains no meat or ingredients with strong spices such as garlic or green onions, and instead features a light and clean taste created by mixing, cooking and processing vegetables as ingredients.



The exhibition featured 11 varieties of kimchi including cabbage, long cucumber and perilla leaf. Other traditional Korean fermented food such as doenjang (fermented soybean paste), ganjang (soy sauce) and gochujang (spicy red pepper paste) and dishes like pickled and seasoned vegetables made with paste were also displayed.

Visitors were offered a range of kimchi types to sample, and could even compare vegetarian cabbage kimchi with that made with regular cabbage and salted fish.

WiKim General Director Ha Jae-ho said, "In that this event features Koreans overseas and locals experiencing Korean culture by sharing food and kimchi, it is also displaying Korea's culture of gimjang (traditional process of making and preserving kimchi)."

"In particular, temple kimchi is enjoyed by Buddhist monks, who stick to a strict vegetarian diet for practicing asceticism, so it's also ideal for Britons who have recently opted to pursue a vegetarian diet."

xuaiy@korea.kr