Kimchi Museum

I am quite fascinated by this fermented/pickled food the Koreans eat. They can Kimchi just about anything. Some of it is good to okay tasting but all of it stinks! Since it is such an important part of the Korean diet I wanted to learn more about it. The girls opted to sit outside the museum and read while I went in. The museum opened with totem poles with birds. These were put up to ward off evil spirts. The birds had to face each other for it to work. It’s original purpose was to be able to have vegetables in the winter when nothing grows. Back in the day it was most common to Kimchi radish and cabbage.

I like the cabbage but do not care for the radish. Kimchi is served at every Korean restaurant whether you want it or not. Sometimes it is hot and sometimes it is cold. It is made in large ceramic pots that were buried underground. Today it is stored in its own refrigerator. Each region in Korea has its own Kimchi and its own ceramic pot. There are over 80 varieties


in this museum. There is a sampling station
where you can try 8 different types. I tried them all and only had to spit out the radish one. Kimchi wasn’t always as spicy as it is now. When the Mexican chili peppers made their way to Asia the dish turned red in color and got spicier. One of my favorite things in the museum is a photo op place.
You can pretend a traditional Korean woman Is feeding you Kimchi. It is the radish kind. The museum got kind of technical and went into the micro-organisms that cause the fermenting. I wasn’t so interested in that. I did enjoy the map of where Kimchi is exported to. Then the museum ends with all the things Kimchi is put on. I took a picture of a hamburger and hot dog.
So it seems as if any ethnic cuisine can be Koreanized by just putting Kimchi on top. Yum or Yuck! You pick!