South Korea's exports of kimchi increased sharply in the first eleven months to hit an all-time high amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data by the Korea Customs Service on Sunday, outbound shipments of kimchi came to 131 million U.S. dollars in the January-November period.

The figure already surpassed last year's total and topped the previous record of 106 million dollars set in 2012.

Japan was the biggest buyer of South Korean kimchi products, importing 64-point-nine million dollars worth to account for nearly half of the total exports in the cited period.

The United States came in second with 21 million dollars, followed by Hong Kong and Taiwan.