This discussion on whether fish-free kimchi is "real" or "not real" has been interesting, so I decided to take a good long look at kimchi's history. It turns out that kimchi has only had fish and shrimp paste in it for just a fraction of its existence. I think it's thus fair to say that the fishy version might be "less real" than the fish free one. Either way, it boils down to respect. I don't think the original creator in any way intended to disrespect those who avoid animal products--I think he was just trying to alert ppl who might be allergic or otherwise avoiding fish products to the fact that kimchi might be problematic (many non-Korean vegans have made this mistake). That said, I was extremely disappointed to see so many in the comments amplifying misinformation regarding kimchi and the story behind kimchi, not to mention denigrating the Korean people who've been making it this way for so long. Food has been around for as long as humans have been around. That's a long time! It's...