Kimchi Is Not Really a Side Dish

Kimchi Is Not Really a Side Dish :

The Autumn Ritual Behind Korea’s Most Famous Food


If you’ve ever eaten at a Korean restaurant, you’ve almost certainly met kimchi. It usually shows up quietly in a small bowl before the main course — reddish, crunchy, with a sharp tangy kick. Most visitors nibble a piece, decide whether they like it, and move on.

But here’s what most people miss: in Korea, kimchi isn’t really a “side dish” at all. It’s closer to an identity. And every autumn, millions of Koreans still gather with their families to make mountains of it together in a ritual that UNESCO has officially protected as part of humanity’s cultural heritage.

That ritual is called Kimjang (김장).



So what is kimchi, exactly?

The short version: kimchi is vegetables that have been salted, seasoned, and left to ferment. The variety most foreigners have tried is baechu-kimchi, made from napa cabbage seasoned with red pepper powder (gochugaru), garlic, ginger, spring onions, and a salted-seafood paste called jeotgal. Over days or weeks, the flavors deepen, the sharpness mellows, and helpful bacteria (the same lactobacillus family you’d find in yogurt) do their quiet work.

But calling kimchi “one thing” is a bit like calling cheese “one thing.” There are hundreds of varieties documented across the Korean peninsula — made with radish, cucumber, mustard leaves, perilla leaves, young green onions, even unripe plums. Some are fiery red; others are pale and almost soupy. Some are eaten fresh within hours; others are aged for months.

A few you might want to try back-to-back:

- Baechu-kimchi — the classic napa-cabbage one
- Kkakdugi — cubed white radish, crunchy and slightly sweet
- Oi-sobagi — stuffed cucumber, wonderful in summer
- Dongchimi — a cold, clear radish-water kimchi that’s closer to a refreshing broth


The autumn ritual nobody warned you about

Here’s where kimchi turns from food into culture.

In late November, when the nights reliably drop below freezing, Korean families traditionally gather to make a huge batch of kimchi all at once — enough to last the entire winter. This is Kimjang. Picture grandmothers, aunts, mothers, and daughters (and increasingly sons and fathers too) sitting on the floor around enormous bowls, hands stained red with chili paste, rubbing seasoning into cabbage leaves one by one.

In 2013, UNESCO inscribed Kimjang on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The reason wasn’t just the food — it was the togetherness. The way recipes pass from mother to daughter-in-law. The way neighbors share jars across apartment walls. The way communities come together to help elderly or low-income households prepare their winter supply.

In the old days, this was survival: Korean winters are long, and kimchi was how people ate vegetables between December and March. Today, you can buy kimchi at any corner store year-round, but the ritual survives because it was never really about the cabbage.



Yes, there’s a fridge just for kimchi!

You’ll notice something unusual in many Korean homes: two refrigerators. One for regular food, and one just for kimchi.

Called a gimchi-naengjanggo (김치냉장고), this specialty appliance keeps kimchi at a steady, low temperature that mimics the traditional method of burying clay pots in the ground. The kimchi ferments slowly and evenly — and, crucially, its very strong aroma doesn’t redecorate everything else in your fridge. It’s one of the most common wedding gifts in Korea, right up there with a washing machine.



November 22 is officially Kimchi Day

Korea designated November 22 as national Kimchi Day in 2020. The date isn’t random: kimchi is said to have 11 main ingredients that deliver 22 health benefits — so, 11/22.

The day has since crossed borders. Several U.S. states — including California, Virginia, Maryland, and New York, plus Washington D.C. — have passed resolutions recognizing November 22 as Kimchi Day, and Argentina became the first country outside Korea to establish a national Kimchi Day.


How to try it like a local

If you’re visiting Korea and want to go beyond the little red dish at the restaurant:

- Visit Museum Kimchikan in Seoul’s Insadong neighborhood — a small but thoughtfully curated museum devoted entirely to kimchi, with tastings included.

- Join a kimchi-making class. They’re easy to find in both Seoul and Busan, usually around ₩30,000–50,000 for a session, and you go home with a container of your own kimchi.

- Ask for “mugeun-ji (묵은지) at a restaurant — aged kimchi, at least a year or two old. It’s tangier, funkier, and a whole different experience from the fresh kind. Try it in kimchi-jjim (braised kimchi stew) or wrapped around a slice of boiled pork belly.

So next time that small red bowl arrives before your Korean BBQ, you’ll know: it’s the visible tip of a very large cultural iceberg. A bite of it connects you to a grandmother somewhere in Jeonju who made this same recipe last November with her daughters, hands stained red, trading stories the whole afternoon.