Korean "Oisobaegi" Hits the World Stage

The traditional Korean dish 'oisobaegi' (stuffed cucumber kimchi) is drawing attention around the world since the Los Angeles Times selected the Korean cucumber pickle as one of its favorite recipes of 1999.
Why is cucumber kimchi highly praised in the U.S. food market which is flooded with such a wide variety of foods from all over the world?
Han bok-ryo, head of the Institute for Korean Royal Cuisine, said that U.S. citizens, who are used to eating western-style pickles, also like the Korean kimchi, adding she was very pleased that it will now become one of the dishes representative of Korean cuisine, just like korean cabbage kimchi, bulgogi, and kalbi.
'Oisobaegi' is one of the side dishes which Koreans usually like to eat with their meals during the summertime.
This kind of cucumber kimchi is very popular among Koreans because the vegetable has a refreshing taste and a spicy stuffing.
A cuisine expert commented that the kimchi is a good match for traditional Korean cow's intestine stew which is eaten during the winter.
Cucumber is an alkaline vegetable, containing high quantities of the mineral kalium, although the vegetable is not very nutritious as it consists of 95 percent water.
There is a story that once upon a time young Chinese women carried cucumbers under their clothes because the aroma of cucumber made a woman desirable and eating cucumbers was thought to enhance beauty.