South of Seoul’s first Gimjang event was a huge success and it was our favorite event so far. Sue was absolutely amazing and the kimchi was fantastic.
The Attendees
Over twenty guests including men, women, and children showed up for Gimjang with Sue 2022 sponsored by South of Seoul. Despite the fact that the event occurred over two days and included a lot of uncomfortable, physically tiring work, everyone tackled different tasks with enthusiasm, humor, kindness, and joy.
Saturday: Day 1
Gimjang started at 8:00 am on Saturday. During the first hour, we got to know each other, ate breakfast, and helped Sue with little tasks here and there. Sue had prepared many different snacks and drinks so we could start the day off with plenty of energy.
Many of us embraced our best Gimjang lives and brought out our best countryside clothes. We legit respect countryside fashion and take this life seriously.
Around 9 a.m. Sue put on a kimchi tasting. She put out three different kimchi boxes aged different lengths of time. Specifically, there was week-old kimchi, month-old kimchi, and year-old kimchi. Sue asked each of us to taste each kimchi and decide which we liked best. Then, she outlined how each one had a different flavor profie based on how they fermented. That gave us a guide to begin our kimchi journey.
After the kimchi tasting, at about 10:00 a.m. the main event for Saturday started. Time to start preparing the cabbages. We all put on our gloves and Sue started teaching and giving us orders. We needed to slightly trim the bottoms off the cabbages, rinse them, and then salt them. The salting helps with the curing and removes the excess water.
This was also the coldest part of the process since it requires cold water for each step of the process. Thankfully Sue kept a heated mat on the sofa for anyone whose hands couldn’t take it anymore.
After the washing and salting, it was time to help prep additional ingredients for the Gimjang sauce. We all took about a 45-minute break to eat more snacks before jumping into the final stage of the day’s prepping process.
Once the main event was done for the day, many folks went home but a small group of us stayed to help Sue with small tasks here and there. We also spent a lot of time hanging out, telling stories, and having lots of laughs. Sue loved having the company and ended up making us a special snack of grilled deodeok and oyster kimchi pancake.
After we went home, Sue took over for the rest of the night, turning the cabbages every 3 hours until about 1 a.m., so that the cabbages would be ready for us on Sunday. Next year, we are going to make sure she has 1-2 people to stay and help with this process so that we can limit her work as much as possible.
Sunday: Day 2
Sue got up at 4:30 a.m. to begin washing the cabbages and had about two-thirds of the work finished by the time Lisa arrived to help around 6:30 a.m. Lisa pitched in with additional preparation tasks as well. Then, three more of us arrived around 8:30 a.m. The main group arrived at 10:00 a.m. to begin the fun part. Staggering the arrivals on the second day worked well and we might streamline this support system for Sue in 2023.
Once everyone arrived at 10:00 a.m., we socialized for about 30 minutes and then jumped into prepping ingredients to make the Gimjang sauce. The making of the sauce requires a base ‘glue’ of water and rice flour that needs boiled and then poured into bowls. Since we made both white and red kimchi, we had two different setups.
To make each sauce, our Gimjang group chopped an assortment of fruits and vegetables including green onion, water parsley, onions, apples, pears, ginger and more.
Once we finished prepping the sauces it was time to take a rest for an hour. One of the most imporant parts of Gimjang is coming together to share stories and build community. It was always a time for catching up with family and friends as well as making food for the winter.
After our break, we began the final stage of Gimjang. This process took around 2-3 hours. Everyone was elbow-deep in sauces and chatting up a storm.
We started with the white kimchi. Once we finished making the white kimchi, we all moved onto the main event: the red kimchi! Sue gave everyone a lesson. Then, they were off! Chatting, working, and having a great time.
Sue’s husband built these wonderful tables for the international Gimjang so that we could all comfortably work together.
Around 12:00 p.m. it was time to start prepping for lunch. The gimjang crew finished making all the kimchi and separated them into their containers. We all cleaned up and took an hour rest while Sue worked on setting up lunch.
Looking Back on Gimjang
Those involved in the Gimjang with Sue 2022 left feeling tired and full of both delicious food and delicious company.
Sue’s Thoughts on Gimjang
I thought about Gimjang on Monday morning with a clear mind and I wanted to share my feelings. While preparing for the Kimchi Festival, I thought about whether I would even be able to satisfy 90% of the people that came. I was scared when the first guests arrived on Saturday morning because I couldn’t read their faces. I wondered, “Are they nervous, too?”However, I saw everyone’s facial expressions change after going through the process of making kimchi. I felt that peak yesterday. Making kimchi with everyone was 200% more touching than I thought.
In Korean life, the meaning of kimchi was not to store food for a year but to share it with a village feast. It was a time when we shared our memories with the families we didn’t have. Thank you so much.
I want to thank Lanae, Harry, Lisa, and Zahra for making this Gimjang festival. And I’d like to thank everyone who came to the Gimjang Festival and who took our affection more than the amount of money they invested. I wish I could have held hands with each of you and asked each of you your names, but I’m making excuses. I was very busy and I’m sorry I missed you. It’s only been a day and already I miss you all so much. Merry Christmas
Tamara’s Thoughts on Gimjang
I just wanted to say thank you again for organizing the Gimjang this past weekend. It was such an amazing experience and will probably wind up being one of the highlights of our time here in Korea. We thought it was well organized, the instructions (both before the event and during the event) were clear and the location was perfect.
I can’t even imagine how much work this was for Sue! She was enthusiastic, energetic and generous to a fault. It was such a privilege to learn from her.
Christin’s Thoughts on Gimjang
After spending almost 20 years in Korea, I got to experience my first Kimjang! It was everything I’d hoped for and more. Because I’m returning to Canada next year, I was worried that I’d never be able to have good kimchi again. The store bought kimchi just isn’t the same, and I deeply regretted never participating in a kimjang. When I read about this event, I knew I had to be there ^^
On Saturday morning, while I was driving to Sue’s workshop, I had mixed feelings. I was excited to learn about making kimchi, but I was also a little nervous. I’m sometimes shy and not easily able to connect with other people. Through the pandemic, I hadn’t met any new people or made any new friends so I was worried about being in a social situation again after so long. I was immediately put at ease by seeing 2 familiar faces and I made the effort to talk to people. Everyone was so warm and friendly.
The process of making kimchi was so interesting. I love kimchi so it was great to hear Sue talk about all the different tips and tricks. She was a wonderful teacher! We got to see the whole process which is exactly what I’ll need when I try to do kimjang next year in Canada! The hardest part will be finding the proper ingredients.
Events like this one have me wishing I wasn’t leaving Korea because of the wonderful friends I made during our 2 days of kimchi-making together.
Thank you again for the incredible experience.
Gimjang with Sue 2023
Sue is already planning for Gimjang 2023 and South of Seoul will be supporting her the whole way. We are already looking forward to seeing people again and making new friends.
Lanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master’s of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert.
Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities.
Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea.
Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea.
When she isn’t in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains.
