Kimchi Olympiad: Rewind

By Claire Gerdsen

The first annual Kimchi Olympiad, a combination of fun and philanthropy, took place on Oct. 15 at Gwangju’s Kimchi Town. The event was an “Amazing Race”-style competition with teams composed of expats and children from five different youth homes throughout Gwangju.

Participants were challenged to compete in 10 different kimchi-related tasks, including making and eating kimchi pancakes, drinking kimchi juice, and learning the 12 ingredients necessary to make kimchi.

The event was designed as a “kimchi-raiser,” with teams racing on behalf of one of the participating children’s homes. Teams finishing within the top eight earned kimchi for their respective children’s homes. While they weren’t racing, participants bridged the language barrier through dancing and playing get-to-know-you games.

Not a million dollar prize like CBS’s The Amazing Race, but a more fitting prize of the red, spicy stuff was given out – nearly 60 kilograms of it, in fact. The first place team received 10 kilos of kimchi, second and third received five kilos, and fourth through eighth received three kilos with each individual participant also receiving 500 grams.

The event hosted more than 100 people, with 35 expat volunteers and 68 children in attendance.

The five participating youth homes were Moodeung Dream Garden, Sungbin Girls’ Orphanage, Youngshin, Ee-yook, and Shin-ae.

Tim Han, a local elementary school teacher who took part in the event and was on the winning team, said, “It was a really great experience, and I think the volunteers and children participating really had an amazing time. It was great of Kimchi Town to host the Olympiad, and they went above and beyond to make this event a success.”

Kimchi Town, a relatively new addition to Gwangju, was completed last October and was a generous host and partner for the event, donating staff, their facility, and the kimchi.

The event coordinator and host was Eunkang Chung, known to many as Kang, of Moodeung Dream Garden Children’s Home (MDream).  Kang was encouraged by the turnout of the event and is excited by the prospect of making the Kimchi Olympiad a yearly event.

Exuding positivity, Kang said, “This was a great chance for the kids to be the teachers and to introduce kimchi and Korean culture to their (usual) teachers.  What a way to empower kids!”

Using the Kimchi Olympiad as a jumping-off point, Kang wants to increase awareness within the expat community about the various children’s homes throughout Gwangju. In the future, he hopes to create a foreign volunteer network, which would allow expats easier access to more volunteer locations and opportunities throughout Gwangju.

For more information about volunteering, contact Kang via email at silverkang@hotmail.com (Subject: MDream Volunteer).