Kimjang (김장 — Making kimchi to eat through the winter)

A culture of sharing recognized by UNESCO (A UNESCO Heritage)

Kimjang was inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. It is not just cooking, but a community event where families and neighbors gather in early winter to make and share dozens to hundreds of heads of Napa cabbage. The tradition of 'Gimjang Pumasi' (labor exchange), where people visit each other's homes to help out, still continues today.

Why make it all at once? (Why All at Once?)

In the days before refrigerators, it was the wisdom of preservation to survive the long winter when vegetables were unavailable. If you put the made kimchi in an onggi (kimchi jar) and bury it in the ground, the temperature stays near 0 degrees, allowing it to ferment slowly. Today, a kimchi refrigerator (Dimchae) that reproduces this principle has taken its place.

Start small at home (Start Small at Home)

If dozens of heads feel overwhelming, one or two heads of Napa cabbage are enough. What determines the taste is not the amount, but the salting of the cabbage and good red chili powder.

• Start with 1~2 heads of cabbage — The concentration of the brine and the time determine the crunchiness.
• Sun-dried red chili powder (Taeyangcho) is the key to color and a clean, spicy taste.
• Store in an airtight fermentation container that doesn't leak gas, leave at room temperature for 1-2 days, then refrigerate.

One fermentation container is enough (One Good Container)

With a glass or ceramic fermentation container, or a kimchi container with an air release valve, you can ferment kimchi at home just as well as in an onggi.