One of soul foods by Korean people Kimchi has a sour, spicy and crunch texture with a specialty of good harmony with other foods. It is like adding pickles and olives in western delicacy regardless of menu. Rich lactobacillus of fermented Kimchi cleans a stomach and prevents constipation and large intestine through the intestinal regulation. Kimchi is effective to prevent obesity and lower high blood pressure. It is also excellent in suppressing aging. An influential daily newspaper in England Guardian introduced Kimchi as five world healthy foods, which has attracted people's attention in overseas because of its various efficacies. There are various types of Kimchi such asradish Kimchi, sliced radish Kimchi, white Kimchi, and leaf mustard Kimchi. Last year Kimchi attracted such attention from overseas with 97.50 million dollars of exportation, which was a numerical figure of 20% increase to the year 2017. It was a result of uniformly increased export to the U.S, Taiwan, and Hong Kong including Japan the major export market. We are expecting good result in the exportation of Kimchi this year while people's recognition of healthy functional Kimchi in overseas is overlapped with the support by the Korean government for its exportation.

Gimbap, made by rolling vegetables and meat in laver and rice, is one of the fast and filling foods on picnic, traveling or on the run. This is why there are so many Gimbap shops in every corner of Korea. Also, it is the most popular convenience foods of Koreans ranked 4th in the 2018 fresh food sales statistics of GS25, one of the major convenience store brands in Korea. It can be also fixed in no time at homes. Dear readers, shall we try making Gimbap? #Fun Stories about Gimbap History of Gimbap: In the Joseon literature, laver first appears as a local specialty product of Taeindo Isalnd in Gwangyang-gun, Jeollanam-do. From this, we can see that the culture of wrapping rice and side dish in laver began in the Joseon Dynasty. It is estimated that there have been many cuisines using laver in the Joseon Dynasty, and following the development of laver related food culture, Gimbap was born in the modern times. Types of Gimbap: Basically, Gimbap is made by rolling carrots, cucumber, eggs and spinaches into laver and rice. But its biggest advantage is that Gimbap can be made by personal preference. Pork belly Gimbap, grilled saury Gimbap, rolled omelet Gimbap, anchovy Gimbap and cheese Gimbap are some of the many. Depending on the appearance, Gimbap can be classified into ordinary Gimbap, mini Gimbap and triangular Gimbap. Unique Gimbap: Chungmu-style Gimbap is a representative local food of Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, where rice and side dish are separately served. White rice is rolled into laver and served alongside seasoned squid and radish kimchi. In Tongyeong is a Chungmu-style Gimbap street where they specialize in Chungmu-stype Gimbap. #Ingredients and Amount of Gimbap (Serves 4) 4 bowls of white rice (920g), 1 tsp. salt, 2 tbs. sesame oil, 4 sheets of roasted laver, 200g minced beef, 4 strips of pickled radish (90g), 2/3 cucumber (100g), 1/2 carrot (100g), 3 eggs, vegetable oil, salt and sesame oil Meat Marinating Seasoning2 tbs. soy sauce, 1/2 tbs. sugar, 1 tbs. chopped green onions, 1 tsp. ground garlic, black pepper, 2/3 tbs. vinegar-sugar-salt water, 2/3 tbs. sugar, 2/3 tbs. water, salt Recipe 1) In rice cooked over small amount of water, add salt and sesame oil. Mix well and let it cool down for a while. 2) Marinate minced beef in meat seasoning for 20 minutes. Then, stir-fry on a hot pan until meat is cooked. 3) Cut pickled radish in thickness of a pencil in the length of laver. Cut cucumber in the same length and thickness as pickled radish. Soak cucumber in vinegar-sugar-salt water for 30 minutes, then remove moisture. 4) Salt finely julienned carrot, stir-fry and allow it to cool. Beat salt into eggs and make a thick omelet. Like other ingredients, cut into a pencil-sized width. 5) Place laver with smooth side on top onto a bamboo mat. Place 1 cup of seasoned rice at the center of laver and spread onto laver except top 1/4 part of laver. 6) Place beef, pickled radish, cucumber, carrot and egg side by side on rice. 7) Roll the bamboo mat from inside by applying pressure. 8) Apply sesame oil onto knife and cut Gimbap round in 1cm thickness. *Tips. Properly cooking rice is especially important in making Gimbap. The rice in Gimbap should be cooked over small amount of water. Sometimes rice is seasoned only with salt or sometimes with vinegar, sugar and salt. When performing step 7 above, be careful not to place too much rice. According to taste, add kimchi, cheese or salad to make a special Gimbap. #Exporting Food Ingredients ① Ajagae Rice by Ajagae Agriculture Association To ensure the production of high quality rice, seedlings produced from the joint nursery are supplied to union members. Ajagae rice is cultivated in pesticide-free method and is GAP certified. Also, it is controlled based on manuals to produce high quality rice. From harvested rice, only the class 1 rice is marketed and distributed. Company Information ·Tel : +82-54-532-1903 ·E-mail : ajagerice@hanmail.net ② Gat perilla oil and Gat sesame oil by Seowondang Food In producing products, cold compression method is used instead of hot compression method that may include carcinogenic benzopyrene. Also, sesame seeds and perilla seeds produced from contract cultivation in clean region of Gangwon-do are used to gaurantee quality and safety. Company Information ·Tel : +82-70-4177-4157 ·E-mail : gatoil@naver.com ③ Shinan1004 Seaweed by Yemat Foods Shinan1004 Seaweed by Yemat Foods have rich flavor of laver. It has gained safety confidence proven from organic cultivation certification by USDA, HACCP, Halal certification, cosher certification and non-GMO certification. Company Information ·Tel : +82-61-246-7312 ·E-mail : koko9916@yemart1004.com