Mission intangible: 'Warm-hearted' Koreans serve up super-spicy kimchi for a cause
A woman poses for photographs with traditional side dish 'Kimchi' during the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
SEOUL (Reuters) - Plunging their pink-gloved hands into cartons of cabbages, and slathering the vegetables with a bright-red sauce, more than 2,300 people on Friday got to grips with making the spicy, fermented Korean staple of kimchi.
About 60 tons of kimchi, which is made with salted cabbage doused in a spicy chili paste, and flavored with garlic, ginger, fish sauce and fermented seafood, among other things, were prepared on the first day of the Seoul Kimchi Festival.
A boy makes traditional Korean side dish kimchi, or fermented cabbage, as he takes part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
An acquired taste for foreigners, kimchi is traditionally eaten as a side dish at every meal. South Koreans consumed about 1.85 million tonnes of kimchi in 2016, according to the World Institute of Kimchi.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization added the art of making and sharing of kimchi to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013.
Those taking part in the festival agreed that it was a good learning experience.
People take part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
"We don't really get much chance to make kimchi usually, so through this opportunity, I have come to understand how much effort our mothers and grandmothers put into making kimchi", said 18-year-old student Jeung Ji-hun.
Organizers aim to make a total of 120 tons of kimchi over the three-day event, which will be distributed to needy households across Seoul.
"This kimchi, along with our warm hearts, will be shared with our neighbors in need of help," said festival director Shin Myung-ki.
People take part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
(Reporting by Jiwon Choi and Minwoo Park, Writing by Karishma Singh; Editing by Nick Macfie)
A boy stretches himself next to his mother as they take part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiA boy makes traditional side dish 'Kimchi' with his mother during the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiPeople take part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiPeople take part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiPeople make traditional side dish 'Kimchi' during the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiPeople take part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYPeople take part in the Seoul Kimchi Festival in central Seoul, South Korea, November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
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