Seoul Kimchi Festival: Giving to Charity
A huge inflatable kimchi pot bouncy castle for kids. A person dressed as a Napa cabbage. Someone else as a daikon radish. This can only mean one thing – The Seoul Kimchi Festival!
This year over 6,000 people took part in making kimchi for charity over the three-day festival in Seoul. On Sunday 3,452 participants made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of people making kimchi in one place at the same time! In one day 90 tons of kimchi filled 9,000 boxes and were delivered to 25 food banks and 13 social welfare organisations in Seoul!
Kimjang for Charity
Kimjang -making kimchi- usually happens in November and it’s the time when traditionally families get together to make kimchi for the winter. I still have some left from the kimchi we made last November.
Kimjang has even been designated a UNESCO intangible Cultural Heritage. So it’s a big deal. But these days families are getting smaller and more people are buying their kimchi rather than making it. And so the Seoul Kimchi Festival was started in 2014 to keep the tradition alive.
There were opportunities for visitors to make kimchi in the exhibition halls but this event in the outdoor plaza was only for invited participants from various organisations. So we couldn’t get up close and personal to take pictures and it might not be easy to see what’s going on here…
The cabbages have already been salted. And the daikon radish sliced and mixed with ingredients for the filling (chilli powder, garlic, fish sauce etc). Then the filling has to be spread between each layer of the cabbage leaves. And put into boxes. And that’s what’s happening below. See pics of us stuffing cabbages for kimjang last year with my parents-in-law.
100 kinds of kimchi
While the volunteers were busy stuffing the cabbages with spicy filling, presentations on how to make a host of different kinds of kimchi were going on inside the exhibition halls – Pyongyang white cabbage kimchi, cockscomb white kimchi, centennial cabbage kimchi, belt fish cabbage kimchi, seafood seokbakji kimchi, and pumpkin kimchi salad.
In the exhibition hall there was info on how Kimchi has changed and developed over time. Using salted fish started in the Joseon period (1392-1910) and chilli pepper wasn’t added until the 1600s. These days it’s hard to imagine Korean food without chilies! There are also varieties of regional kimchi, seasonal kimchi, palace kimchi, and temple kimchi.
Kimchi in North and South Korea had changed too and it’s not only due to the weather differences (it’s warmer in the South) Since the Korean War the kimchi in the South has developed using a wider range of ingredients and the kimchi fridge has become an essential appliance in the kitchen. Kimchi fridges can cost well over 2 million won…
Iconic Pink Gloves
When it comes to what to wear, I don’t think I’m going too far when I say that the pink washing up glove has reached iconic status in the world of kimjang. Don’t ask me why the gloves have to be PINK, but the quality of Korean washing up gloves get some great reviews.
It’s cold work handling the kimchi especially if the weather is cold too as kimjang often happens outside. Last year we wore winter gloves inside the plastic gloves. But it was still quite cold though.
When is the best time to make Kimchi?
The lunisolar calendar includes 24 Solar Terms throughout the year. (called jeolgi)The 24 Solar Terms make up the ancient Chinese almanac based on the sun’s position in the zodiac, and traditionally they were used as a guide for farming during the four seasons in East Asia. (The calendar is now on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China).
Ipdong 입동 立 冬 is the 19th of the twenty-four solar terms and signifies the beginning of Winter.
It’s the time when white radishes and cabbages are harvested and households preparation for winter stock of kimchi begins. Ipdong falls around the 7th or 8th of November in the Gregorian calendar and traditionally it was said that winter kimchi is best prepared no more than five days before or after Ipdong. The Seoul Kimchi Festival took place on Nov 2-4 (starting 5 days before Ipdong)
My parents-in-law are always very specific about the date they set to make kimchi. They follow the lunisolar calendar and this year we are making kimchi this weekend, a few days after Ipdong.
Kimjang for Community & Identity
Apparently 165 tons of kimchi was planned to be donated this year at the Seoul Kimchi Festival. But the event is one of many kimjang CHARITY events that go on at this time of year. Employees from various companies around the city will join organised events preparing kimchi for the needy as part of their social responsibility initiatives. Large events are held in Yeouido or Gwanghwamun.
According to Unesco.org ‘The collective practice of Kimjang reaffirms Korean identity and is an excellent opportunity for strengthening family cooperation. Kimjang is also an important reminder for many Koreans that human communities need to live in harmony with nature‘.
More on Kimchi
Things that I learned at the Kimchi Museum
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