Kimchi documents

The record of kimchi can be found in “Shijing” (The classic of poetry)-,China's first collection of poetry written 2,600 to 3,000 years ago. In the poem “The field was opened by a foreigner”, there is a phrase that says, “Let’s cut the outside and soak it in.” the world ‘jeo’ in that phrase referred to kimchi.

There is a record that Confucius ate kimchi while frowning in ”Yeossi Chunchu(呂氏春秋)”, and “Shi Ming”(釋 名) also explained about kimchi. According to “Seokmyeong”, when the vegetables were pickled in salt and fermented, lactic acid was produced, together with salt, prevented the vegetables from going bad. Ever since, kimchi was known as method of preserving vegetables using lactic acid fermentation.

“Zhou Rye(周禮)” of the Han Dynasty also showed a record of government offices making seven kinds of kimchi using vegetables such as turnips, young lotus leaves, water parsley, and bamboo shoots.
However, there was no evidence to back up this information.

History of kimchi through Japanese literature

Although there was not a single book about food from the “Three Kingdoms” period left in Korea, people could guess the dietary during that era through Japanese literature which was influenced by the Korean culture.

According to documents such as “Shoshowon “ and “Yeonheesik(延喜食)” in Japan, it can be seen that there was kimchi pickled in salt, sake brewery waste, soy sauce, vinegar, and elm bark. There was also evidence of kimchi called delicate barley, which was pickled vegetables in rice flour and salt. Kimchi made with rice flour was also mentioned in “Jeminyosul(齊民要術)”, a Chinese food book dating back to the year of 500. “Jeminyosul” described many other types of kimchi.

There was a theory stating that salted radish (the signature kimchi in Japan) was made by replacing rice flour with rice bran. The reason behind this was because the weather in Japan was hot and humid which could cause the rice flour to go bad easily. Therefore, it was said that the origin of pickled radish was sorghum, but unlike other kimchi, it was noteworthy that it had a proper noun called sorghum.

According to Kojiki, an old Japanese history book, there was a record that during the reign of King Ojin [應仁王], sorghum from Baekje appeared and people were taught how to make sake with yeast.

Thus, it could be said that sorghum was transported from China to Baekje and then to Japan. Therefore, it could be assumed that not only sorghum but also various kinds of kimchi of “Jeminyosul” were consummed in Baekje. This would have been the same situation not only in Baekje but also in all Three kingdoms.

Kimchi made the first appearance in Goryeo literature.

Kimchi made from radish as the main ingredient appeared for the first time in Korean literature in the poem “Gapo Yukeong” by Lee Kyu-bo in the mid period of the Goryeo dynasty. “Fermented radish in the summer, pickled radish in the winter”, which showed that kimchi in the Goryeo dynasty included both fermented and pickled radish.

In the poem “A village in Jabyeon mountain” (山村雜詠) by Lee Dal-chung, apparently weeds was used to make kimchi, salted water chestnut mixed with bitter greens also appeared.

This was the only record from the literature of the Goryeo Dynasty, but in Japan's “Shoshowon Documents” and “Yeonheesik”, kimchi mixed with vegetables and spices such as jusa fruit, yeokkwi, and horseradish was shown. In a food book from the Yuan Dynasty, “Geogapilyong” (居家必用)], kimchi mixed with vegetables and spices such as garlic or ginger, so it was assumed that Korean kimchi in the Goryeo Dynasty also had a mixture of vegetables and spices.

Joseon dynasty

In the mid period of Joseon dynasty, red chili pepper was imported and stared a revolution of kimchi in Korea. Before this period, kimchi was soaked in salty brine or other spices such as cheoncho or dills were added.

1600s

In 1670 (11th year of King Hyeonjong), in “Eumsikdimibang” showed record of winter melon kimchi and horseradish kimchi in a jar with brine. The jar was sealed with a bowl of water which help with the natural fermentation without salt, similar to unsalted chimchae.

In addition, the “saengchichimchae” (生雉沈菜法) method is also explained. The method involved cutting the seasoned cucumber kimchi into thin, one inch long pieces slices, steeping it in water with a pheasant, and salt is added later. It was soaked and fermented like winter melon kimchi.

Today's Korean kimchi has a great feature in using both vegetables and meat, and it can be seen that it has already appeared in the late 1600s, even though red chilli pepper was not used back then.

Additionally from the content of this book, it could be seen that there was a variety of ingredients such as winter melon, cucumber, and radish used as an ingredient for kimchi.
In addition, “Eumsik Dimibang” mentioned ‘Saengchi Janjihi’ and ‘Saengchihihi’, which meant stir-frying pheasant meat with cucumber in soy sauce. From this, it could be understood that salted secondary ingredients were also called ‘jihi’.

In “Nonggajipseong” compiled by Shin sok(申洬) in 1655 (6th year of King Hyojong) contained a Wolryeongsik farming book called “Sashichanyocho”, which included “chimgwajeo” and “chimjeupjeo”. Today's “jeupjang” is a mixture of eggplant, soybean paste, and wheat bran, buried in hot hemp flour, and eaten after 20 days. There is eggplant in “jeupjang”, so this may be a kind of pickle, but it is regarded as kimchi.

Eleven kinds of kimchi were recorded in a document called “Yorok” (要錄) estimated to be from the late 1600s.
None of these kimchi used red chili pepper as an ingredient. Kimchi such as radish, cabbage, winter melon, fern brake, mung bean, and dongchimi [冬沈], made by soaking radish in salty water, were described. In addition, there was also a unsalted chimjae, made by adding clear water to radish and leaving it for about 4 days, discarding the juice when there were bubbles, then adding clear water again.

However, spices were used in Umhwanggwa (淹黃瓜), a cucumber kimchi. In other words, cucumbers were blanched in hot water, dried, soaked with salt, sugar, cheoncho, fennel, and vinegar. It can be seen that red pepper was introduced at the time, but it was not yet used in kimchi, only cheoncho or fennel were used as spices.

1700s

According to “Sanlim Gyeongje” in 1715 (Sukjong 41), even though it has been 100 years since red chili peppers were introduced, only salt, vinegar and spices were used to make kimchi.

In “Seokmyeong”, “jeo” was a kind of kimchi made with salt, rice and fish. In “Gosaseibjip”, fermented vegetables using rice, yeast, salt, and oil became popular. This is called Jachae (鮓菜) in “Imwonsibyukji”.

This vegetable is similar to sorghum barley of Baekje, and has been continued to the Joseon Dynasty. Even today, radishes are mixed together when making “sikhae” (sweet Korean rice beverage).

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Then, 50 years later, in “Jeungbo Forest Economy” published in 1766 (Yeongjo 42) showed that red chili pepper was added into kimchi.
In “chimnabokhamjeobeop” (沈蘿葍醎菹法), radishes with the leaf were mixed with other vegetables such as cheonggaechae, pumpkin, eggplant, and spices such as red chili pepper, cheoncho, and mustard then in garlic juice. This was similar to today's original kimchi.

In addition, the Hwanggwadamjeobeop (黃瓜淡菹法) mentioned stuffing cucumbers cut into thirds with red chili pepper powder and garlic ferment, which is today's cucumber kimchi.
In addition, today’s kimchi such as dongchimi (water raddish kimchi), cabbage kimchi, yongin cucumber kimchi, winter eggplant kimchi, abalone kimchi, and oyster kimchi also appeared.

This kind of Korean kimchi was introduced to China as well.
In 1712 (38th year of King Sukjong), in “Yeonhaengilgi” by Kim Chang-eop’s mentioned an old woman moving to Korea and made a living by selling kimchi there, her kimchi had the similar taste to the one in Seoul nowadays.

1800s

Also, according to “Gyesangijeong(薊山紀程)” in 1803 (3rd year of King Sunjo), kimchi from the house of Tonggwan imitated the way of making kimchi in Korea and pretty tasty.
There was no way to identify the kimchi in Gyesangijeong, but people assumed that the kimchi went to China and gained popularity in the 18th century.

In addition, Sichuan Pochae, one of China's famous kimchi, 8% salt water made up 60% of the volume in a jar called Pochae. Then 3% red chili pepper and 3% alcohol were added to the jar. Vegetables were cut into bite-sized pieces, and then added to jar for fermentation in 10 days. This was similar to dongchimi in Korea.

Although the Sichuan region is far from Korea, it is possible to speculate that the Korean dongchimi was introduced to Sichuan. Because there were many people from Sichuan among the Ming Dynasty reinforcements army during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592.

In the 19th century, Korean cooking methods were compiled in the book called “Imwonsibyukji” in around 1872 (9th year of King Gojong).
The book classified kimchi into four types

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  Eomjangchae(醃藏菜)

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  Jachae(酢菜)

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  Vegetables(虀菜)

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  Jeochae(菹菜, 沈菜)

In addition, Eomjangchae is a mixture of vegetables with salt, brewery waste, spices, etc., and stored for the winter. Jachae and Jeochae are the same type. However, Jachae is fermented with salt and rice. Jeochae is a mixture of seafood kimchi, bean paste, ginger, garlic and vinegar so it will have a salty, sour and spicy taste.

그In the description of Jechae, “Eomjangchae, Jachae, and Jechae belong to Jechae, but the unique Jechae in Korea is called Jechae. To classify them, Jeochae is fermented and eaten right away, and Eomjangchae is washed before using as a cooking ingredient.”

Regarding the differences between Jeochae and Jechae. Je is cut it into small pieces, and Jeo is fermented whole vegetables. The relationship between Jeochae and Jachae is not mentioned, but they seem to be classified by whether yeast or grain is used.

“Imwonsibyukji” also mentioned Haejeobang (醢菹方), a kimchi mixed with salted fish.
It was salted radish with the leaf, other vegetables such as cucumber, cabbage, and seaweed mixed with spices such as red chili pepper, ginger, cheoncho, garlic, mustard, etc., . It also contained seafood such as croaker fish, salted fish, abalone, conch, and octopus. It was made by mixing abalone shells, which act as a softener, and fermenting with lactic acid at an appropriate level of salt.

This showed that today's kimchi was almost completed in terms of choosing ingredients and method. After that, they were upgraded by adding fruits, other meat, and pine nuts according to taste.

“Gyuhapchongseo(閨閤叢書)” also explained various ways of making kimchi, but it did not deviate much from the scope of “Jeungbo Forest Economy” or “Imwonsibyuji”.

Modern and contemporary

The main factor in the changes of modern and contemporary kimchi could be due to the improved quality of the kimchi ingredients, the increased popularity of seafood kimchi, and the changes in cooking methods.
It was only 100 years ago that Chinese cabbage appeared on the dining table.

Chinese cabbage varieties have been continuously improved since they became the ingredient for kimchi. However, not until the 1960s that many households started using the semi-spherical cabbage called Seoul cabbage and Gaeseong cabbage.

Among the cabbage varieties, Seoul cabbage has a hard structure, low moisture, and easy to store, so it was widely used for kimchi. Although it was still rare, some people insisted on using only Seoul cabbage when making kimchi.

Salted fish, one of the ingredients for kimchi, depeneds on the different households that different types and amount of fish added to the kimchi. Nowadays, in big cities, people tend to replace salted fish with fish sauce to make kimchi.

The Korean War, the development of traffic facilities and means of transportation and the influence of the mass media could be a great factor on the changes in kimchi recipes. Until the 1950s, people did not frequently travel between regions, so the unique kimchi recipes of each region was well preserved.

However, many people were evacuated due to the war and moved to different regions. And as they stayed in the region for a long time, they had the opportunity to try different kimchi, learn how to make kimchi, and various different cooking recipes.

In addition, since the improvement of as traffic facilities and means of transportation, accelerated speed of goods shipping, and the influence of media such as TV, the unique kimchi of each region lost their popularity, also the cooking recipes became unified.

Since the 1988 Olympics Seoul, kimchi has been famous worldwide.
In 2000, Korean exported $79 million worth of kimchi to foreign countries such as Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In addition, on July 5, 2001, the International Food Standards Commission (Codex) certified kimchi as an 'international food', extended the potential of exporting to overseas markets in the future.