The Republic of Kimchi

Also pronounced gimchee, or kimchee is a dish native to Korea. It is one of many pickled dishes made with a variety of pickled seasonings. If you ever travel to South Korea, at almost every meal except breakfast will be accompanied by a serving of Kimchi. The main ingredients of Kimchi contain;

1. Chinese cabbage
2. ginger
3. onions
4. some seafood
6. saweujeot (in the Southern area, brined shrimp allowed to ferment)

However according to the Kimchi museum in Seoul, there areat least 187 or more varieties of Kimchi. The varieties are seperated by seasons and/or by regions. For example in the northern part of Korea, they use less salt and less red chili paste. In Seoul, the southern region the red chili color is distinct to this area and uses more salt and flavoring than the north. The northern parts also prepare more water kimchi's than the south. Before arriving in Korea, I had already known about Kimchi. When i was in the 7th grade one of our science projects was to make our very own Kimchi, and study how it fermented for a week. Let's just say our classroom did not smell like roses at the end of the experiment lol. However, i had forgotten how it tasted and decided to be open minded and have some Kimchi upon my arrival. Not being a fan of hot pepper and spicy foods, I did not like the hot taste of the cabbage mixed with the vinegarish fermented taste. Kimchi is definetly an acquired taste, you either like Kimchi or you don't. Although, i fall in the don't category, many people in our group loved Kimchi and tried a lot of different kinds.
Since Kimchi is so spicy, i wondered how it didn't hurt Korean people's digestive systems by eating Kimchi at least 2 times a day, 7 days a week. However, i learned that although very spicy, Kimchi provides 80% of our daily recommended vitamin C intake and other vitamins because of the mix of assorted vegetables. Kimchi is definetly the official food of Korea, even at the supermarket there are display after display of different kimchi's. So if you ever happen to visit Seoul, or eat at a Korean restaurent; ask for some Kimchi, you never know you may be surprised and love it as millions of Koreans do.

Cecilia A. Ndounda