Kimchi is an almost daily food on Korean people's tables. Since you can store a lot of kimchi at once and eat it for a long time, Koreans usually use kimchi refrigerators to store kimchi. Most Korean houses have kimchi refrigerators, to the extent that some say that the sales of kimchi refrigerators are higher than those of air conditioners.

Korean kimchi seen in various scenes

It is often seen in dramas that Koreans eat kimchi with almost every meal. From seolleongtang to hanjeongsik, a bowl of food must include kimchi, and you can see scenes of making kimchi in some dramas.

The Beginning of Korean Kimchi Refrigerator

In the past, kimchi was known as a food that deepened its taste when left for a long time. Before winter came when vegetables were scarce, I made kimchi and ate it until spring. When the kimchi was put in, the ground was dug in the yard to store it. In this way, the temperature of the kimchi hardly changed, so it could be eaten fresh for a long time. Since kimchi is often used not only for eating, but also as a cooking ingredient for stews and dumplings, we had to pack a lot of it. Therefore, it is known that a separate kimchi refrigerator was used to store kimchi.

However, as the number of people working in the city increased, more apartments were built. Since the apartment does not have a yard, it was impossible to store kimchi on the ground, and it became difficult for neighbors to make kimchi together. When kimchi is stored in the refrigerator, it smells a lot, and there is not enough space to put other foods. So, the kimchi refrigerator appeared.

My grandmother's house also has a kimchi refrigerator.

Time to make Korean kimchi

Until the 1980s, most Koreans ate kimchi at home. From late November to early December, neighbors were often seen making kimchi together in the yard. Kimchi was made through various processes, such as boiling pork when cabbage and radish were plentiful.

At my house, whenever we make kimchi, we boil pork and eat it together. It was really delicious. It tasted even better when I ate it with kimchi.