RESUMEN
The aim of this study was to examine intake patterns and preferences for Kimchi in middle school students. The subjects included 361 male and 325 female students in Masan City. For the frequency of Kimchi intake, the largest group consisted of students who ate Kimchi at every meal, with 51.6%, and the majority of them had seven or more pieces of Kimchi per meal. In addition, 50.4% viewed Kimchi as an indispensable dish; and of those who consumed Kimchi at every meal, two kinds of Kimchi would be served. Ggodeulppaegi- Kimchi and Yangbachu-Kimchi were the least preferred types, while Baechu-Kimchi was most preferred, followed by Kakduki and Dongchimi. Furthermore, ripe Kimchi was considered more preferred by 44.9% of the students, and the males had greater preferences for fresh Kimchi (36.0%) as compared to the females (26.8%). Regarding their favorite portion of the Kimchi, students who ate Kimchi at every meal were fond of every part; while 36.6% of the males preferred the top portion and 42.5% of the females preferred the whole portion of Kimchi. The degree of ripeness (39.9%) was selected as the most crucial factor in determining taste, and 49.1% of the subjects preferred a spicy taste. The students who ate Kimchi at every meal liked properly seasoned Kimchi (56.6%), of which 79.4% preferred spicy Kimchi; although they did not like excessively hot Kimchi products. Finally, 37.5% of the subjects identified salted shrimp as their favorite fish sauce.