Kim Si-gap, a seasoned farmer from Anbandegi village in South Korea, has been cultivating kimchi cabbage for over 50 years.

Kim, the head of the Highland Cabbage and Radish Producers' Association, has witnessed firsthand the dramatic changes in his crops over the decades due in part to climate change.

"I can feel that a climate crisis is approaching.” he says at his farm in Gangwon Province, east of Seoul. “The cultivation area has already been halved due to soil diseases and various viruses (that thrive in high temperatures).”

Gangwon Province, known for its cool, high-altitude climate, produces 93 percent of South Korea's kimchi cabbage from the highland area during the summer time.

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Rising temperatures and erratic weather patterns have reduced the area of highland kimchi cabbage by more than half since the 2000s, data from the government statistics agency shows.

According to the Rural Development Administration, a state farming think tank, climate change scenarios project the farmed area to shrink dramatically in the next 25 years to just 44 hectares, with no kimchi cabbage grown in the highlands by 2090.

Highland kimchi cabbage thrives in cool climates, ideally between 18-21°C. However, data from the Korea Meteorological Administration shows a significant increase in summer temperatures in the Yeongdong region of Gangwon province, a key area for kimchi cabbage production.

In 1993, the average summer temperature was 19.4°C, with an average high of 22.8°C. Fast forward to 2024, and these numbers have jumped dramatically, with an average summer temperature reaching 25.4°C and the average high peaking at 29.9°C.

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It's a daily struggle to adapt and survive for farmers. The cost of adapting to climate change is steep. "Production costs have definitely increased due to climate-related difficulties," Kim said.

“Since crops are often affected by various diseases and pests, we have to continuously apply substances that are somewhat effective against them. We need to keep spraying them.”

These temperature changes, coupled with reduced farmland, threaten not just farmers' livelihoods but also a staple of Korean cuisine - kimchi - a dish that Korean people eat every day.

Kimchi maker Lee Ha-yeon, a recognized kimchi master, shares the concern. "It's very sad to think that we might not be able to make kimchi, which our ancestors have eaten for generations, using cabbage grown on our own land,” she said at her Kimchi Institute. “If this continues, then in the summer time we might have to give up cabbage kimchi."

"Concerns? We stored spring cabbages in advance based on the weather forecast. We expected that the price of cabbage would be high, because in these climate conditions, cabbage is bound to be expensive.” She noted that this would be difficult for ordinary people who lack storage facilities, forcing them to buy expensive cabbage or go without.

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Researchers are taking action. The Rural Development Administration is working on various initiatives to combat the effects of climate change on cabbage farming, including developing heat-resistant, and disease-resistant varieties.

However, consumers still worry. "When you think of kimchi, you often think of cabbage kimchi. If it disappears, it would be a shame. There are many other dishes in Korea that use cabbage, so it's unfortunate to lose that variety,” says Han Min-ji, an office worker in Seoul.

"I think the first step is to raise awareness about climate change and extreme weather conditions," said another consumer, Choi Won-jae.

Climate change adds to the challenges facing South Korea's kimchi industry, which is already battling lower-priced imports from China, which are mostly served in restaurants.

According to the Korea Customs Service, the amount of kimchi imports from January to July this year was $98.47 million, a 6.9% increase compared to the same period last year. This amount surpasses $96.49 million recorded in 2022, which was the highest kimchi import amount on record.

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(Production: Daewoung Kim, Dogyun Kim, Sebin Choi, Jihyun Jeon, Hyunyoung Yi)