This study investigated the preference, intake condition and awareness of Kimchi of 660 elementary students in the Seoul area surveyed during June, 2008. The preference test was performed by using 5-point hedonic scale (1=dislike very much, 5=like very much). The most preferred types of Kimchi were Baechukimchi (4.32), Bossamkimchi (4.08) and Kkakdugi (4,01). The most preferred foods prepared with Kimchi were Kimchi jjige (4.59), Kimchi bokkeumbap (4.47), fried Kimchi (4.35), Kimchi pancake (4,31), Kimchi mandu (4.20) and Kimchi kimbap (4.06). Kimchi pizza (2.88), Kimchi hamburger (2.85) and Kimchi spaghetti (2.81) were not preferred. Most students (62.7%) ate Kimchi at almost every meal. The main reason for eating Kimchi was its delicious taste (50.3%). Concerning intake of Kimchi provided at school lunch, 48.4% of students ate some, 45.9% ate all and 5.8% ate none. Various kinds of Kimchi should be developed for elementary school students to meet their taste.

This study investigated the eating preferences and patterns for kimchi by elementary school students in Seoul, Korea. Seven hundred and sixty-six elementary school students in the Seoul area were surveyed during June, 2008, and the results are summarized as follows. The percentage of elementary school students living in a nuclear family was 93.6%. The BMIs of students were 'normal' (81.7%), 'underweight' (9.7%), and 'overweight' (8.6%). Most students (70.2%) liked kimchi. The main reasons cited were 'hot taste' (46.5%) by males and 'texture of chewing' (40.6%) by females. Most students had eaten Baechukimchi (97.8%) and Kkakdugi (96.9%), with Korean lettuce Kimchi (29.7%) marking the lowest experience. Regarding food prepared with Kimchi, most students had eaten Kimchi jjige (99.2%) and Kimchi bokkeumbap (96.9%). Kimchijapchae (27.8), Kimchi pizza (14.8%), Kimchi hamburger (13.3%), and Kimchi spaghetti (9.5%) received low grades.