South Korea’s exports of dried seaweed - “gim” in Korean - and cooked rice reached an all-time high during the first 10 months of this year on brisk overseas demand accompanying the popularity of Korean culture and food, the Korea Customs Service said.

Outbound shipments of gim came to a record high of $670 million in the January-October period, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the customs agency.

In terms of volume, gim exports rose 17.3 percent on-year to 30,000 tons.

Dried seaweed is usually roasted with sesame oil and fine salt to be served as a side dish in Korean cuisine. Snacks made of gim have gained popularity overseas in recent years.

The No. 1 market for South Korean gim was the United States, which accounted for 21.1 percent of the total export value, followed by Japan with 18.4 percent and China with 13.2 percent. (Yonhap)