Say “Kimchi”! Right now!

Wow, was that fun!

When I first found out that Gwangju annually holds the “World’s Kimchi Culture Festival”,  I didn’t feel the urge to mark it in my calendar. I had plans to go to Busan or Jinju but in the end I decided that I needed to “take a rest” in Gwangju at least one weekend this month and I think I chose the best weekend.

Kimchi – who doesn’t love it? Actually, a lot of foreigners don’t, but I do! After months of rinsing my kimchi off in my bowl of soup at school, I finally discovered that it is pretty tasty and the benefits surprised me.

I was meant to follow the Gwangju News Team during the Kimchi Festival Scavenger Hunt (during which dozens of teams descend upon Jung-oe Park foraging about for clues)  but then I found the Makoli tent and spent most of my time watching the festival from there. Although the festival didn’t get the greatest reviews from my friends who have attended in the past, when I finally left the tent I couldn’t believe how many activities were happening. Besides the Scavenger Hunt, there was a kimchi-making pavilion and a ceramics tent where you could make your own bowl, soju glass, vase or well… anything.  There was a candle-making tent that smelled beautiful and a chocolate making tent where you could design your own bon-bons. Here’s a run down of a few of the activities:

Kimchi Making
At first I didn’t feel like spending 7,000 won to make kimchi that I wasn’t going to eat so I choose not to participate in this activity. But after bumping into a friend who was shocked that I wasn’t heading home with a homemade stash of the stuff, I turned right back around to go and make it. In the end I was really glad that I did go back. It was fun and now I have the perfect gift for my co-teacher.

Ceramics Tent
For 2,000 won you could sit with a professional and he/she would guide your hands to help you make the most perfect ceramic bowl. It was just like the movie Ghost, but without the romance.

Chocolate Making
I made bon bons while I sat at a pink table with a bunch of elementary school kids who were decorating their chocolates. While the kids were dumping and piling on the toppings, the artist in me needed tweezers to place my almond slices down to form a flower shape.

Candle Making
I didn’t get a chance to take part in this but for the Scavenger Hunters it was one of the mandatory activities on their list of clues  and they reported back that they enjoyed making their colourful scented candles.

GFN 98.7 MHz
Watching the Scavenger Hunters all dressed in neon orange running all over the festival and interacting with everyone was entertaining. GFN also had a Foreigner K-Pop Singing contest that didn’t disappoint. The large crowd of old and young waygooks and hangooks sang along with the performers and danced in their seats. The energy was brilliant.

The Food
Of course, there was a ton of artisanal kimchi vendors. After setting my mouth on fire from sampling kimchi at the first ten tents, I was done with the tasting but some of my friends kept going and were pleasantly surprised by how tasty it all was.

All the other food available was made with kimchi and it was all delicious  At the makoli tent I enjoyed a kimchi pancake, which was not overpowering whatsoever. I didn’t want to share it with anyone and I even wanted seconds.

You could also buy honey in a jar large enough to last you for about two years, perfect figs, grilled rice cakes, lots of plum products, beautiful ceramics at bargain prices and so much more.

According to many people, this year’s festival was even better and more entertaining than previous years. It was a great festival, especially for new-comers to Gwangju like my friends, and I’m going to assume next year will be just as wonderful.

So the moral of the story is: listen to your co-workers and friends and eat your kimchi!

If you missed this year’s  Kimchi Festival check out this video by GN’s David Cowger.

For more information visit:

Kimchi.gwangju.go.kr (Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese)
Date: October13 – 17
Venue: Gwangju Jung-oe Park (Right behind the Biennale venue)