Kimchi goes to space, along with first Korean astronaut

By Choe Sang-Hun

International Herald Tribune

SEOUL: Koreans say they must eat kimchi wherever they are. When South
Korea dispatched troops to the Vietnam War in the 1960s, tearful mothers
sent off their sons with clay pots containing homemade kimchi. Soon
troopships were filled with the pungent smell of the fermenting cabbage
slathered with pepper and garlic.

So it was only natural for Koreans to think that their first astronaut
must have the beloved national dish when he goes on his historic space
mission in April. Three top government research institutes went to work.
Their mission: to create "space kimchi."

"If a Korean goes to space, kimchi must go there, too," said Kim Sung
Soo, a Korea Food Research Institute scientist. "Without kimchi, Koreans
feel flabby. Kimchi first came to our mind when we began discussing what
Korean food should go into space."

Ko San, a 30-year-old computer science engineer who beat 36,000
contestants to become the first South Korean space traveler, will blast
off April 8 on board a Russian-made Soyuz rocket, together with two
Russian cosmonauts. He will stay in the International Space Station for
10 days conducting scientific experiments.

Ko's trip will be an occasion for national celebration. Since 1961, 34
countries, including Vietnam, Mongolia and Afghanistan, have sent more
than 470 astronauts into space, but none of them was Korean - something
South Koreans have found humiliating, given their country's economic
stature. So when their government finally decided to finance Ko's trip,
they wanted him well prepared for his momentous journey. Which means he
must take kimchi with him.

After millions of dollars and years of research, South Korean scientists
successfully engineered kimchi and nine other Korean recipes fit for
space travel. When the Russian space authorities this month approved
them for Ko's trip, the South Korean food companies that participated in
the research took out full-page newspaper ads.

The other space food Koreans created include the national instant noodle
called ramyeon, hot pepper paste, fermented soybean soup and sticky
rice.

But kimchi - a must-have side dish at every Korean meal - was the
toughest to turn into space food.

"The key was how to make a bacteria-free kimchi while retaining its
unique taste, color and texture," said Lee Ju Woon at the Korean Atomic
Energy Research Institute, who began working on the newfangled kimchi in
2003 with samples provided by his mother.

Ordinary kimchi is teeming with microbes, like lactic acid bacteria,
which help fermentation. On Earth they are harmless, but scientists fear
they could turn dangerous in space if cosmic rays cause them to mutate.
Another problem is that kimchi has a short shelf life, especially when
temperatures fluctuate rapidly, as they do in space.

"Imagine if a bag of kimchi starts fermenting and bubbling out of
control and bursts all over the sensitive equipment of the spaceship,"
Lee said.

Lee's team found a way to kill the bacteria with radiation while
retaining 90 percent of the original taste. Lee's space kimchi comes in
cans, whereas the Korea Food Research Institute's version, developed by
Kim's team using a different technology to control the fermentation
process, comes in a plastic package.

"This will greatly help my mission. When you're working in space-like
conditions and aren't feeling too well, you miss Korean food," Ko, who
is training in Russia, said in a statement transmitted through the Korea
Aerospace Research Institute, which is overseeing his mission. "Since I
am taking kimchi with me, this will help cultural exchanges in space."

Ko plans to be host of a Korean dinner in the space station on April 12
to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the day the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin became the first human in space. The dinner will conclude with
Korean ginseng and green tea.

What about kimchi's strong aroma, which often keeps non-Koreans from
trying it?

"We managed to reduce the smell by one-third or by half," Kim said. "So
the other astronauts will feel comfortable trying our space kimchi."

Choi Gi Hyuk, head of the South Korean government's Korea Astronaut
Program, said the low-calorie and vitamin-rich kimchi, and its
mouth-scorching punch, would prove excellent in space by "perking up the
appetite" of astronauts "tired of their bland menu." So far, 150 dishes
are available for astronauts, all developed by American and Russian
scientists.

South Koreans consume 1.6 million tons of kimchi a year, at breakfast,
lunch and dinner. Until recently, in a tradition similar to an Amish
barn raising, villagers joined to make kimchi each fall and stored it
underground in jars to last through the winter. Today, most housewives
buy kimchi in stores and keep it in an electronic "kimchi refrigerator."

Many South Koreans say their high-tempo lifestyle - which helped build
their country's economy into one of the biggest in the world in a few
decades - owes much to the invigorating qualities of kimchi.

When posing for photographs, Koreans say, "Smile and say 'Kimchiiii!' "
And there is no doubt a link between kimchi and Korean morale.

In 1967, President Park Chung Hee of South Korea sent a letter telling
President Lyndon Johnson that South Korean soldiers fighting in Vietnam
were miserable, missing kimchi. To make the point, Park's deputy, Prime
Minister Chung Il Kwon, told Johnson during a visit to the White House
that when he traveled overseas, he longed for kimchi more than his
wife.

After the Americans agreed to finance the delivery of canned kimchi,
Assistant Secretary of State William Bundy reportedly quipped - somewhat
wishfully - that the Vietcong "would never be able to hold the Koreans
once it arrived."

The developers of space kimchi said their research would help overcome
an obstacle that has daunted businessmen trying to expand kimchi
exports: the food's short shelf life.

"During our research, we found a way to slow down the fermentation of
kimchi for a month so that it can be shipped around the world at less
cost," Lee said. "This will help globalize kimchi."

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