KUWAIT: A group photo taken during the 'Kimchi Table 2021' event at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

KUWAIT: The Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the State of Kuwait in association with the Korean Food Promotion Institute organized a Korean food contest under the title 'Kimchi Table 2021' at its premises on Wednesday. The contest was held in Cooperation with the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), and with sponsorship of Qatar Airways and Safir Hotel.

Delivering welcoming remarks on this occasion, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the State of Kuwait Chung, Byung-ha attended the event, while Mohammad Redha, Representative of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters also attended. The Embassy invited 10 judges to the contest who have special knowledge and experience in Kimchi to ensure fair and professional assessment of the dishes.

Six contestants, comprising famous hotel chefs and social media cooking influencers, took part in the contest after passing through the preliminary screening process. The contestants, who were divided into two groups, prepared several variant fusion dishes using Kimchi. Videos of the contestants were screened after the speeches, adding to the sense of pride and enthusiasm in the contest.

At the end of the contest, the panel of judges selected two winners, one from each group. The winners are Ramu Naidu from the hotel chefs' group and Mimi Murad from the Instagram influencers' group. The winners were offered two round-trip tickets to Korea presented by Qatar Airways in addition to giving them the chance to attend a Korean cooking class organized by Korean Food Promotion Institute.

Kimchi is preserved vegetables seasoned with unique spices and fermented seafood that are stored for a specific period of time before eaten. According to historical records, Koreans used to make Kimchi and eat it even before 760 AD. Kimchi is a unique Korean food that is deeply related to the identity of Koreans to the extent that UNESCO inscribed Kimjang, an activity of making and sharing Kimchi on its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. Recently, Kimchi is admired as a healthy food across America, Europe and several Asian countries along with expansion of Hallyu wave.