By Honorary Reporter Weronika Ciarka from Poland
Photos = Weronika Ciarka

I attended the second edition of the event "Kimchi in Onggi" on Nov. 16 at PAN Botanical Garden in Warsaw, Poland. Organized by the garden, Onggi Poland-Korea Cultural Association and Korean Culture Center, the program promoted Korean culture and identity in Poland as well as feature Korea's traditional lantern crafting, tea brewing and tasting in addition to kimchi. 

Welcoming speeches by Pawel Kojs, the garden's deputy director, Ambassador to Poland Lim Hoonmin and association staff member Wladyslaw Gdowik started things off. Despite the chilly weather, a diverse crowd came ranging from young children to the elderly all eager to learn to make kimchi at the workshop.

Workshop instructor Shin Pan-sik makes fresh kimchi.

I attended the workshop alone but quickly bonded with others there. Instructor Shin Pan-sik introduced the concept of son mat (hand taste), a term usually used to compliment someone's cooking. He said making kimchi requires the same ingredients and recipe, but every batch has a unique flavor influenced by the person who prepared it.

Onggi is a traditional ceramic pot used to ferment and store kimchi.

After preparing large quantities, we put the kimchi into onggi, or traditional ceramic pots for fermenting and storing kimchi. Two large onggi were filled and buried in a section of the garden to ferment for several months. As a bonus, each attendee received a jar of freshly made kimchi from Shin to take home.

This was my first time making kimchi and I'll never forget it. The workshop sparked my curiosity to try more types of kimchi and cook Korean food at home, and I believe many other attendees left with the same enthusiasm and interest.

Kimchi workshop instructor Shin Pan-sik (left) poses for a photo with the writer (right).

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.