Korean food, known as hansik in Korean, is becoming increasingly popular with foreigners and is an important part of tourism these days. More foreigners began to show interest in Korean cuisine after the worldwide broadcast of the Korean hit period drama “Jewel in the Palace” featuring gorgeous royal court food from the Joseon Kingdom. Riding on the trend and adding more weight to the government’s push to globalize Korean cuisine, a bestselling comic book series entitled “Sikgaek(식객)” by Hur Young-man(허영만), the master cartoonist in Korea, has been adapted on both big and small screens in recent years. “Sikgaek” means “eating guest” or “food for guests.”

“Sikgaek 2: Kimchi Wars” is the second movie version and the latest adaptation of the gourmet series that use the food theme extensively. The first film “Sikgaek 1: Le Grand Chef,” which was a huge hit in 2007, mostly focuses on the showdown between two rival hansik chefs at a national cooking contest, showcasing a wide variety of Korean dishes. The 2008 drama version of the culinary series, meanwhile, highlights the life of the main character as a top chef-turned-peddler who drives a beat-up truck and searches for the essence of Korean food in every nook and cranny of the country. In contrast, the latest film version brings to light kimchi, Korea’s favorite side dish, and blends the themes of maternal love and family.

The Korean president on a state visit to Japan is shocked when kimchi is introduced as “kimuchi,” the Japanese version of the dish. Upon returning home, the president decides to promote kimchi to the world. A female chef named Jang-eun(장은) and her step-brother Seong-chan(성찬) participate in a kimchi contest, fiercely competing to find the genuine taste of kimchi. But they have different purposes in mind. Jang-eun is upset about the fact that her mother was a gisaeng(기생), a traditional Korean female entertainer, and she tries to shut down the restaurant that her mother has run for decades. But the restaurant is a childhood residence for Seong-chan, who parted with his deaf and mute mother at a young age and grew up under the care of Jang-eun’s mother. Both have excellent cooking skills, but the battle to gain control of the restaurant pits them against each other in a nationwide contest to make the best kimchi dish ever, with Jang-eun fighting to close down the restaurant and Seong-chan, to save it. For these two contestants, the competition is also about compensating for painful childhood memories related to kimchi, their soul food.

The movie features not only the most common red kimchi made of napa cabbage but also a variety of regional kimchi styles and modernized recipes. For those hoping to get a visual taste of the staple Korean pickled side-dish, this gastronomical film will take them on that delicious journey.