
By Lee Hae-rin
Kimchi from luxury hotels is selling like hot cakes in South Korea.
Koreans’ daily consumption of premium kimchi, created with recipes from hotel chefs and made with top-notch ingredients, has been rising amid growing demand for packaged kimchi and ingredient price hikes driven by the climate crisis.
According to hotel officials, sales of Supex Kimchi, a high-end kimchi brand from Walkerhill Hotels & Resorts that costs 28,000 won (US$19) per kilogram, increased by 42.2 per cent year on year in October. Walkerhill Hotel Kimchi, which is cheaper, saw its sales jump 109.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, sales of kimchi made by Josun Hotels & Resorts, which also costs 28,000 won per kilogram, increased by 10 per cent in November compared to the same period in 2023.
Lotte Hotels & Resorts, which started its kimchi business in August 2023, saw its kimchi sales jump by 50 per cent in October compared to 2023.