China Claims Bibimbap and Pasta as Their National Dishes

Search results for “pasta” on Baidu, China’s largest encyclopedia website [Photo: Baidu Screenshot]

The Chinese portal site “Baidu,” which previously claimed that Bibimbap, a traditional Korean dish, originated in China, now asserted that pasta, a staple of Italian cuisine, also originated in China. This is part of an ongoing “cultural appropriation” issue where the Chinese claim Korean traditional food and culture as their own.

According to industry insiders on the 19th, Baidu’s “Baidu Encyclopedia” claimed that pasta, known as “Idarimon” (大利面) in China, originated in China and spread throughout Europe. This puts Baidu at the center of the “food culture appropriation.”

Baidu argues that Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant and explorer, spread pasta throughout Europe via Sicily after discovering it in China and that the first pasta was allegedly made in the 13th to 14th century and is most similar to the pasta enjoyed in 21st-century China.

However, Baidu also added, “There is another theory that the origin of pasta can be traced back to ancient Rome.” It further explained, “The populous Roman Empire, which had difficulty preserving food, is said to have devised a method of making flour into round pancakes, thinly slicing them, and drying them.”

Recently, Baidu also sparked controversy by stating that Bibimbap, a traditional Korean dish, also originated in China. Professor Seo Kyung-duk, who is active as a guardian of Korean culture, criticized this claim on social media, saying, “For several years, they have been making absurd claims that Kimchi originated in China, and now they are even saying that Bibimbap is Chinese.” He added, “Just because they distort traditional Korean foods that are gaining worldwide attention this way, it doesn’t mean they become Chinese food.”

This isn’t the first time China claimed Korean food or culture as its own. In 2021, China attempted to incorporate Kimchi, a traditional Korean dish, into Chinese culture in a move dubbed “Kimchi appropriation.” Since then, they have also claimed that Samgyetang (chicken soup), Hanbok (traditional clothing), Pansori (musical storytelling), and Hangul (the Korean alphabet) were all influenced by China.