Kimchi wars: South Korean food livestreamer faces Chinese web users’ wrath

YouTuber Hamzy (pic) apologised for adding a thumbs-up to comments online about China claiming kimchi as its own, which Chinese Internet users took as an insult. The origin of the fermented cabbage dish is a hot-button issue between China and South Korea, as Chinese celebrity vlogger Li Ziqi found out last week. — SCMP

A South Korean Internet star who livestreams herself binge-eating various foods – a phenomenon known as mukbang – is in hot water amid an online dispute over whether kimchi is Korean or Chinese.

The YouTuber, who goes by the name Hamzy, found herself caught in the crossfire of this cultural clash when she added a thumbs-up emoji to comments online about China claiming Korean kimchi, a fermented cabbage dish, as its own.