Korean Culture (Ondol, Kimchi)

Hello, I'm Korean :0

There are traditional cultures unique to Korea that all Koreans know. One of the things that surprise foreigners when introduced to them is ondol and kimchi. It can be said that it is a culture unique to Korea that we are proud of. Today, I will write about these two topics.

👦 What is Ondol?

Ondol is a method of heating by heating stones under the floor of a room. A fire is lit in the fireplace to heat up the bowl, and the hot heat spreads throughout the room. In this way, not only the floor but also the air is warmed up, so you can maintain a warm temperature throughout the winter. In the old days, there were no boiler facilities such as briquette boilers, so ondol was mainly made by burning firewood. Maybe that's why even now, there are many cases where the smell of burning wood still lingers in country houses. However, recently, with the development of various heating devices such as electric pads, it is said that they are gradually disappearing.

👦 What is Kimjang?

Kimchi is a representative fermented food. Kimchi includes not only cabbage, which is the main ingredient, but also many ingredients such as radish, red pepper, garlic, green onion, etc. These ingredients are pickled and seasoned to make kimchi. In particular, there are a lot of ingredients that give off a stimulating taste, such as red pepper powder and salted fish, so people like or dislike it, but I personally like it very much.

Today, we looked at two traditional cultures of Korea, hope it was helpful to you :)