This study analyzed Kimchi eating culture in 178 households with female middle school children located in Incheon and Seosan areas, investigated the Kimchi eating patterns of female middle school students, and also analyzed the differences in value recognition for Kimchi between mothers and their female middle school students. Results showed that 23.0% of subject households answered eat Kimchi at every meal and the main reason for eating Kimchi in most households was good for taste. Most households made their own Kimchi, and only 12.3% of households bought Kimchi. Subject households preferred hot and spicy taste (34.8%) and pleasing taste (20.2%), and 44.4% of middle school children answered as eating Kimchi at every meal, and the source for information on Kimchi was home in 51.6% and mass media in 33.7%, suggesting the lack of school education. Both mothers and their female middle school students placed high value on Kimchi for its nutritional aspect and on Kimchi from the market for its convenience. Mothers showed significantly higher value (p<0.05) on the storage aspect of Kimchi compared to their middle school students, and female middle school students showed significantly higher value (p<0.05) on the value recognition for Kimchi as an international food compared to their mothers. Also, the value for hot pepper powder was high among other additional ingredients, and both mothers and middle school students had high values for Kimchi stew among other food dishes using Kimchi, and middle school students showed higher values (p<0.001) on foreign dishes using Kimchi such as Kimchi pizza and Kimchi spaghetti compared to the mothers group. Therefore, based on these results, the development of educational programs on Kimchi is needed not only at home but also at schools, by re-emphasizing the importance of value recognition for KImchi in our food culture.
Keywords: Eating pattern of Kimchi; female middle school student; value recognition of Kimchi.