Bringing the people together by making kimchi? A suspicious year-end event

On November 20, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety confirmed that it would hold a kimchi making event for national unity as a means to spread the mood for national cohesion on November 27. Some raised suspicions that the government was trying to inspect the operation of government-funded organizations ahead of the parliamentary elections. The interior ministry explained, “We have held the kimchi-making event every year from 2008 until 2019, and we are only resuming the event after four years now that covid has died down.”

According to the interior ministry’s plan for the kimchi-making event for national unity, a document that the Kyunghyang Shinmun obtained Monday, the interior ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and 243 local governments will hold a kimchi-making event at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi on the afternoon of November 27. It is a massive event with two thousand participants expected including three national movement organizations including the Korea Freedom Federation, volunteers, small business owners, foreign workers, disabled people, young people, senior citizens, and North Korean defectors. The document also mentioned the Presidential Committee of National Cohesion among the participants, but the committee decided not to take part.

The interior ministry explained, “The purpose is for the 243 local governments nationwide, the committee for the five northern Korean provinces, and people from all corners of society to make kimchi together and spread an atmosphere of national cohesion.” That same day, kimchi-making events will be promoted in the seventeen metropolises and provinces for the purpose of national unity as well. The government presented the ultimate goal saying, “We will create a mood that will stimulate integration throughout the nation.”

Some argued that there was a political motive behind the event involving government-funded organizations like the Korea Freedom Federation ahead of the general elections. “I have a feeling that the event has a political purpose,” said one participant.

“After President Yoon Suk-yeol entered office, government-funded organizations have replaced their heads and are also in the process of changing their personnel. I think the government is trying to generally inspect the operations of the government-funded organizations ahead of the general elections,” said Eom Kyeong-young, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, over the phone. He added, “Isn’t it a bit hilarious talking about integration with kimchi? They probably have other intentions, but considering the time, we can’t avoid connecting it with the elections.”

There are also concerns that the participation of government-funded organizations could actually weaken the meaning of national cohesion. The Korea Freedom Federation removed a clause stating, “The Federation must remain politically neutral in conducting its business,” in March, and stirred controversy for political activities, such as appointing a large number of government-friendly YouTubers as their advisors. President Yoon personally attended all the events of the three major government-funded organizations: the anniversary of the founding of the Korea Freedom Federation in June, the Bareugesalgi Council national congress on November 7, and the national meeting of Saemaul Undong leaders on November 12.

“The interior ministry sent instructions mobilizing civil servants from 226 local cities, counties, and districts nationwide claiming to hold a kimchi-making event for national cohesion at KINTEX on November 27,” the Confederation of Korean Government Employees’ Union mentioned in a statement, and criticized, “Civil servants nationwide have been facing criticism from citizens due to the administrative network, which was restored after three days, and in this situation, the interior ministry is trying to force local government employees to take part in a promotional event for show, while forcing local governments to shoulder the costs, including transportation expenses.”

The interior ministry has held the event, “Sharing Kimchi of Love” from 2008 until 2019, but the event has never been held on such a massive scale as this year. In 2019, a total of a hundred people took part including 75 volunteers from interior ministry employees and fifteen members of a senior officials’ wives group at the central square on the first floor of the interior ministry annex building in Sejong-si. They made kimchi with nearly a thousand heads of napa cabbage and delivered the kimchi to families sustained by children, social welfare facilities, and jjokbangchon or shanty town residents.

“The kimchi-making event is an annual event conveying the message of sharing,” said the interior ministry, adding, “This year, in order to further spread the message of sharing and service, we plan to promote the separate kimchi-making events of each local government as one event.” The ministry also said, “News articles claiming that we are mobilizing government-funded organizations are different from fact.”