Posted on 11/07/2018 6:24:26 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Six thousand people will be invited to make kimchi in downtown Seoul over the weekend at the fifth Seoul Kimchi Festival.
The annual festival will kick off at Seoul Plaza and nearby Mugyo-dong area on Friday through Sunday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.
People in Korea have traditionally made a large amount of kimchi before winter, so they can eat the fermented cabbage during the cold season when it is hard to get greens. Kimjang, the winter kimchi-making practice where families and neighbors gather to exchange labor and share food, is designated on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
During this year's festival, 6,000 people will make kimchi with 165 tons of cabbage, with the sessions taking place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on each of the three days, according to the city government. The scale will be up from 2016's 60 tons and 2017's 120 tons.
On the last day, 3,000 people will make kimchi for a Guinness World Record for the largest number of people making kimchi at one place. The current record was set during 2013's festival with 2,635 people.
All the kimchi made there will be offered to the underprivileged through the Seoul Council on Social Welfare and food banks in the capital.
Applications to participate in the kimchi-making sessions have closed, but visitors can make their own kimchi at a separate experience zone at Seoul Plaza. Special sessions exclusively for foreigners will also be available on Saturday and Sunday.
A large exhibition room will be set up at the plaza where visitors can see 100 types of kimchi from across the Korean Peninsula including North Korea, to be made through consultation with the Kimchi Association of Korea, the World Institute of Kimchi and Baewha Women's University.
Seven kimchi masters will present their special recipes at the Master's Kimchigan program, while chefs Yu Hyeon-su and Baek Seung-jun will give lectures on more modernized kimchi.
A kimchi-making contest will also be held on Friday, where the winner will be awarded "kimchi chef" credit and the Seoul mayor's award.
A kimchi market will be open on the Mugyo Street from Saturday to Sunday, where people can buy kimchi or kimchi ingredients at lower-than-market prices including salt and red pepper powder. People can send the purchased goods to their homes through delivery service.
Food trucks selling kimchi-infused food will be also there.
On the first day of the festival, alpine snowboarder Lee Sang-ho will attend the kimchi-making session. His nickname is "cabbage boy" as he got his start in snowboarding on a slope in Gangwon Province that used to be a cabbage patch.
"The kimchi festival has been developed as a large charity event," a city official said. "We'll make more efforts so kimjang culture can become a new part of hallyu."
Visit seoulkimchifestival.com for more information.
Can you recommend a brand or type most risk-free for a kimchi noobie? I think I’d like to order a small jar on amazon.com
Kimchi usually keeps the crisp consistency also. It’s not heated and softened like kraut. Think fermented pickle crisp not raw. It’s got some funk smell to it, but it doesn’t match the taste. And yeah, it’s mostly pretty hot. It takes some time to make kimchi, I’m not sure it’s going to be done over a weekend festival if it was made at the festival.
Freegards
We were in Seoul for a week last year. We now love kimchi.
My Korean SIL brings me her home made kimchee every month. It is delicious. I like it on Triscuits. It is an acquired taste.....but. we love it.
I was turned on to it 20+ years ago now. A Korean in-law. It’s key to get past the first whiff of it and concentrate on the taste. I sure didn’t have any thing to compare it to in my regular diet.
Freegards
I've read that having one is a status symbol.
A friend of mine is married to a Korean American woman who has relatives in Germany.
I think they live in Berlin but in any case, these people along with other Koreans, make Kimchi to sell at an outdoor market.
They always sell out right away. German’s really love.
I’m a huge fan myself. Wish I knew more about Korean food. My friends wife once made dinner for me as a guest of the family. Never had such variety and tastes served at a meal. All of it healthy according to the lady of the house.
really a first rate memory.
Ha, now I bring Kimchi to my Korean in-law when I visit. I have an Asian market that makes it, they don’t. Their six kids have been eating kimchi since they could take solid food, ha. It must be in the genes. I once had some Korean exchange students and was much more stinky, fishy, and mushy than I was used to. But I still dug it. It had thistle tops in it, if I recall.
Freegards
Tell me about the restaurants!
Surprisingly nice...and cheap. We travel to meet people and experience their culture so we ate in neighborhood restaurants.
A lot of Koreans emigrated to Germany in the Sixties when Korea was still a dirt-poor country. The men worked in the mines and a lot of the women became nurses and went into the medical professions.
I'm curious: How does one "shade" sauerkraut?
Regards,
We were just there. Food is very reasonable, especially if you go to the “local” restaurants. You can get a pretty decent meal from 7,000 - 9,000 won (roughly $7-$9). Even if it is a total hole in the wall, it is likely to serve good food. I think there is so much competition in Korea that unless you serve good food, you will quickly go out of business. Don’t worry, all the menus are in English as well as Korean, and usually have pictures of the food as well.
One thing Koreans don’t eat is western-style breakfasts, so if you like that it can be hard unless you go to somewhere like McDonalds (which is Koreanized to an extent). An option is to go to one of the many upscale coffee places and get a coffee and a piece of fancy cake. (Something they are always doing in the K-Dramas.) That can cost you the equivalent of $10 but it is a nice experience. Quality of the coffee is much better than you would get at Starbucks, although it will not necessarily be as big.
Ugh... that place must smell like Elizabeth, New Jersey.
I think I’d like to order a small jar on amazon.com
I actually try to read my posts, before hitting the ‘post’ button. Then again, my eyes aren’t as good as when I was younger. Shredded . There I’ve got it.
Ah, but once it is acquired...
My favorite is cucumber kimchi.
try cucumber kimchi. generally it is a bit milder. it’s my favorite. I spent almost four years in Korea. It’s an amazing place with wonderful food and friendly people.
My wife’s is Daikon Radish Kimchi.
this is making me hungry!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.