On February 1st, a member of the K-pop group Tours, Han Jin, sparked controversy when he referred to kimchi as “pao cai” on the fan platform Weverse. A fan asked Han Jin if he had eaten, to which he replied, “I had kimchi stew,” and added the Chinese word “pao cai” in his response.
“Pao cai” is a Chinese pickled vegetable dish, distinct from Korean kimchi. In 2021, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism revised its guidelines for foreign language translation of public terms, specifying “xin qi” as the correct Chinese term for kimchi.
Professor Seo Kyung-deok addressed the issue on the morning of the 5th, stating that he had received many reports on the matter, particularly about Han Jin’s use of “pao cai” in an app where he interacts with fans, leading to the ongoing debate.