Abstract
This research entailed collecting domestic and overseas research papers on technologies for fermentation of Kimchi, which is widely considered the national dish of Korea, creating a technology classification structure and conducting quantitative analysis on each technology component and schematization. Five research papers were published in domestic journals in 1990. Afterwards, the number increased by six to nine papers a year. There was no clear increase after the year 2000, but an average of around 20 papers have been Published every year, indicating that Kimchi research is now becoming widespread. An analysis on researchers entailed determining the percentage of research papers published by the top ten authors. The percentage was 76% in the early-1990s; 63% in the late-1990s; and 52% in the 2000s, indicating that Kimchi has been more and more widely researched and Kimchi research has become professionalized. Universities were found to be leading the research as 52% of researchers belonged to universities. Another 9% were at research institutions. Analysis of technologies showed that domestic research mainly focused on the Kimchi fermentation process and an additive for the development of new Kimchi ingredients and types, preservation and quality improvements. Most of the research papers published overseas dealt with the functions of bacteria strains isolated from Kimchi; and improvements in the Kimchi fermentation and ripening processes. And most of the research papers have been published in a field of microorganism and biotechnology.
