South Korea’s exports of kimchi rose sharply in the first half of the year thanks to its growing popularity, data showed.

Overseas shipments of kimchi came to 20,259 metric tons in the January-June period, accounting for 68.3 percent of full-year exports in 2019, according to the data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp.

South Korea‘s outbound shipments of kimchi have been on a steady rise with the volume rising from 23,490 tons in 2016 to 24,311 tons in 2017 and 28,197 tons in 2018.

In the first half, major export destinations included Japan, the US, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. (Yonhap)