The Argentine Parliament set up a “national kimchi day” to “pay tribute” to South Korean immigrants, which triggered fierce criticism

According to Argentina’s new world weekly, the Argentine Senate unanimously approved the establishment of “Argentina’s national kimchi day”. This is a Korean dish. In the context of the social and economic crisis and increasing poverty, senators are paying tribute to Korean kimchi, which has been severely criticized on social networks.
Due to the epidemic, this is the first face-to-face meeting of the Senate in a year and a half. The theme of the debate on that day was to approve the draft declaration against Chile’s expansion of the limits of the maritime continental shelf. However, in the small debate on the draft law, senators unanimously voted in favour of designating November 22 as “Argentina’s national kimchi day”.
This initiative was put forward by national Senator Solari quintana, who represents Misiones province. She reviewed the process of South Korean immigrants arriving in Argentina. She believes that South Korean immigrants in Argentina are characterized by their mission of work, education and progress and respect for the country of residence. South Korean communities have become close and friendly with Argentina, thus strengthening the brotherly relations between the two countries, And the brotherly relationship between the two peoples, which is the basis for the proposal of this draft law.
She said that next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Argentina and South Korea, and kimchi is a food made through fermentation. It has been declared as human intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. Its main components are cabbage, onion, garlic and pepper. Kimchi is a national identity of South Korea. Koreans cannot eat three meals a day without kimchi. Kimchi has become the national logo of South Koreans and South Korea. Therefore, it is very important to institutionalize the “national kimchi day” in Argentina, which will help to establish rich cultural exchanges with South Korea.
In social networks, users criticized political leaders for ignoring national reality. In Argentina, the number of poor people reached 40.6%, more than 18.8 million. When people were concerned about the epidemic crisis and more than 115000 people died of coronavirus, people thought that legislators should discuss the budget for 2022 to balance public accounts, reduce inflation and prevent the increase of poverty, they were discussing Korean kimchi and announced the establishment of a national kimchi day.
Reporter Oswaldo Bazin responded to the news at the meeting and celebrated ironically. “The Senate passed unanimously. Let’s all make kimchi!”


Post time: Oct-08-2021