#news RT BBCNewsAsia: The art of making North Korean kimchi gets Unesco nod https://t.co/TCsQJOtXwJpic.twitter.com/jlN5au8ve1
— m.ohammeddki88557474 (@mohammeddki8852) December 3, 2015
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un recently toured a new kimchi factory in Pyongyang. According to reports, he liked it so much, he wants to put them everywhere.
The Ryugyong Factory was, in the words of state media, "built under the loving care" of Kim, reports Agence France-Presse. It turns out 4,200 tons of kimchi every year.
Last year, UNESCO granted "Intangible Cultural Heritage" status to North Korean kimchi-making. The special blend of pickled veggies "is often homemade, and comes in many varieties," the BBC reported at the time. "There are intense rivalries between regions and families over who has the best version," and Koreans tend to get together in late fall to make enough to last through the winter.
The Ryugyong Factory has "modernized, mechanized, and automated all the production processes on a high level, including processing, fermentation, and ripening," reported press agency Explore DPRK. A video, posted above, shows Kim walking around a clean, empty factory.
After his inspection tour, Kim called for the construction of similar, modern kimchi factories in every province, all based on Ryugyong. He also urged the factory to "make it more delicious than that produced by individual households, and thus make it a favorite dish of the citizens and the best food in the world."
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