Kimchi is famous as one of the five essential health foods of the world.
From of old Koreans usually prepared plenty of kimchi by households in late autumn. At present in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea one can see such a scenery at a place all the year round. That is the Ryugyong Kimchi Factory which produces kimchi in an industrial way.
The factory, occupying a total floor space of over 16 130 square metres, is composed of three storeys—one underground and two on the ground— and equipped with processes of making kimchi, kkaktugi (cubed radish kimchi) and other pickled foods.
An integrated production system is in operation, which enables the factory to arrange production, manage business activities and ensure quality control on the basis of IT and science at a high level. Workplaces are all germ- and dust-free and all production processes automated and streamlined. Cabbages and radishes are supplied by lifts and a vertical conveyor belt from underground to the automatic feeder, which carries them to cutting, pickling and washing processes. And materials go through the spicing, fermenting, maturing and packaging courses.
Kimchi maturing room
Noteworthy is that the production needs no manual labour except the spicing process since all jobs in the production processes are done by robots.
Besides the whole cabbage and cubed radish kimchis, the factory produces special kimchis according to demands of the people and changes of seasons. It also makes a variety of pickled vegetables and various kinds of fermented fishes.
The factory has furnished the experiment and analysis lab with a general kimchi analyser and other latest analytical facilities to fully ensure the quality and hygienic safety of products.
Furnished with a sci-tech learning space and a technical training room as well as a general control room and an experiment and analysis lab, it puts great efforts into the making of more nutritious kimchi suited to different palates of the people.
The products of the factory—thousands of tons of kimchi and pickled foods and lots of processed mushroom on an annual basis—are winning more and more popularity for their attractive packaging as well as original flavour.
Article by Kim Un Jong
