Kimchi: The Secret Sauce of Korean Relationships

Kimchi is a fermented vegetable dish that has become popular around the world as a fusion ingredient. Many chefs and food lovers appreciate its health benefits, spicy taste, and crunchy texture.

There are many kimchi recipe types, but the most common one is baechu kimchi, made with salted cabbage, radish, garlic, red pepper flakes, and other seasonings. Kimchi is rich in antioxidants, phytochemicals that fight cancer, and lactic acid that supports digestion. That's why the health food industry values kimchi highly.

In other countries, people usually buy kimchi from stores or make small amounts at home. But in Korea, there is a traditional way of making kimchi that is different. This way is called 'kimjang', which means 'the culture of making and sharing kimchi'. In December 2013, it was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

If you are interested in kimchi, you should visit Korea in November. November is the kimjang season in South Korea. You can see trucks loaded with fresh cabbage and radish going to markets, shops, and homes.

Annual special events

Kimjang is an annual event that lasts for several days. People buy a lot of kimchi recipe ingredients because they make kimchi only once a year. They store the kimchi for 3~4 months in winter when cabbage is not available. This is an old tradition that continues today. Kimjang is a big event that involves the whole family and the neighbors.

Kimjang starts by cutting cabbage into halves or quarters and salting them in brine for a day. This is to prevent the kimchi from spoiling. The kimchi develops its flavor over time through this process.

Then, the salted cabbage is drained and mixed with ginger, garlic, radish, red pepper flakes, and carrots to make the red kimchi paste. Some people also add anchovy sauce, shrimp sauce, or both to make it more savory. There are also vegetarian kimchi recipes.

Everyone has their own way of making cabbage kimchi recipe. Some people add grated pear for sweetness or green onion for antioxidants and spiciness. Daepa is a type of green onion that is different from leek. You can also use chives and yellow onions.

The kimchi-making methods vary among Koreans, but they share one thing. They do everything by hand, without using blenders or ready-made ingredients. This is a lot of work that takes a long time. This means that the traditional kimchi-making method is very authentic.

After this, the hard work of spreading the kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf begins. The cabbage is folded like a parcel with the outer leaves. In the past, people dug holes in the ground and buried large jars of kimchi. But now, many people live in apartments, so they put the kimchi in containers and refrigerators.

The flavor of bonding 

Kimchi dish reflects the Korean culture of sharing and bonding. Some people eat it at every meal, so they put a lot of effort into kimchi. In Korea, a family of four makes about 50 cabbages of kimchi. The kimchi is cut and served on the table at every meal.

As a food journalist in Korea for many years, I had the privilege of meeting some of the most renowned kimchi recipe masters who have earned academic and governmental recognition.

Kimchi masters have turned kimchi into a precise science and art. I admire kimchi masters, but kimchi is neither a science nor an art. Rather, it is all about community.

When I first came to Korea in the mid-2000s, I fell in love with kimchi so much that I went back to my hometown of London to make it myself. Making kimchi doesn't require much skill. It's easy and anyone can do it if they can handle a knife. Even if you aren't good with knives, you can still do it as long as you have someone to assist you. What you really need to make kimchi is a lot of physical work. This is because it involves a lot of hands.

When making kimchi, you need a space to work in a basin big enough to serve as a bathtub for small children, so the kitchen often feels too small. Instead of a kitchen, the living room, a spare room, or even a rooftop is used as a place to make kimchi.

Kimjang, the season for making kimchi, offers a chance to have endless fun with family, friends, neighbors, and other people who join you. If you visit a Korean family during this season, do not be surprised if someone wraps a seasoned cabbage leaf and puts it in your mouth. Kimchi is a treat in Korea.

I have experienced this a lot. I prefer a kimchi recipe that has aged for a few months and has a richer flavor, but when I taste this kind of kimchi, I cannot help but want to join in making kimchi. Even if you get sore muscles from squatting in front of a large basin for hours and stuffing kimchi paste between cabbage leaves, there is no place in Korea where you can create such a bond like kimchi.

Sharing is caring

Just because the last cabbage leaf is seasoned does not mean the kimchi is done. The next step is sharing. It was rightly mentioned in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013. Just as Koreans used to live in one village and share kimchi with all their neighbors, it is still common to see them sharing freshly made kimchi with friends, colleagues, and family members.

Every year, our fridge is filled with fresh kimchi from my friends' mothers and grandmothers. When I receive kimchi as a gift, I always feel loved. I feel like I belong to a community that I can sense even if I can't see it.

Large and small companies, city hall workers, and apartment residents' associations regularly set up large tents and hold kimchi-making events to distribute kimchi to neighbors in need.

I'm now eating kimchi in London that matches Korean tastes. However, the most important ingredient in kimchi recipe, the sense of belonging, is always missing. Making kimchi is a unique social experience that can be done alone, but kimchi cannot be done alone.

In November 2020, even in South Korea, people couldn't gather together to make kimchi due to social distancing because of COVID-19. When the COVID-19 situation improves, we're able to reunite with Korea's representative community event, the Kimchi Festival. Even though your body is tired, you will be filled with joy and happiness.

(Source / Tim Alper is a journalist and writer from the United Kingdom who has lived in South Korea for more than 12 years and is currently living in the UK for a short time.)