Secret Sauce? Kim Jong Un applies science to kimchi making

Kim Jong Un wants to turn the art of kimchi-making into a science. And the North Korean leader is putting his money where his mouth is. (Photo by Charles Haynes/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

PYONGYANG, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic Of — Kim Jong Un wants to turn the art of kimchi-making into a science. And the North Korean leader is putting his money where his mouth is.

On the outskirts of Pyongyang, surrounded by snow-covered farms and greenhouses, stands one of Kim’s latest pet projects, the Ryugyong Kimchi Factory, which produces 4,200 tons of the iconic Korean pickled vegetable dish a year. Its manager says the shiny new facility replaces an older factory and opened in June last year after getting Kim’s final seal of approval.

The factory is intended to showcase Kim’s efforts to boost North Korea’s domestic economy and produce more, and better, consumer products. His strategy aims to simultaneously develop the national economy and North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.