PYEONGTAEK, South Korea –
American and Korean families gathered Nov. 16 to participate in a thousand-year-old tradition that continues to remain relevant today.
Kimjang, a communal gathering to make and preserve large amounts of kimchi for the winter, is considered to be as old as the fermented dish itself.
This weekend at Pyeongtaek University, the Korean-American Children's Cultural Exchange Association hosted its 7th annual US-ROK Kimchi-Making Festival, which drew more than 40 U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys community members and 100 local Korean residents.
Together, the group turned 300 heads of cabbage into “baechu” kimchi that will be donated to less-fortunate members of the community.
Local Pyeongtaek civic leaders, including Mayor Jung Jang-seon and Council Chairman Kang Jeong-gu, along with U.S. Army Col. Ryan Workman, U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys commander, opened the event with words of gratitude, encouragement and highlighted its significance.
"Today, we are not just making kimchi, we are also building bridges of friendship and cultural understanding between our people," Workman said. "This experience will not only enrich their memories and understanding of Korean culture, but create lasting memories and friendships."
Participants donned brightly colored aprons, elbow-length pink rubber gloves and huddled around three sections of 40-foot-long tables, massaging red sauce between cabbage leaves.
U.S. Army Maj. Jeremy Larson, operations officer in charge, 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment-Korea, Osan Airbase, was all smiles as he worked efficiently alongside with his wife, Challis, and five children.
"This is awesome," he said. "I'm enjoying it."
"It's neat for my kids to experience this event," said Challis, whose family is now on its third multi-year tour in Korea since 2011. "It's not just the food – it’s the culture."
Although the family was attending the event for the first time, their second youngest, Rayce, 8, had made kimchi in a Korean kindergarten class during their last tour from 2018-2022.
"My favorite is the cucumber kimchi," he added.
The familial atmosphere permeated the courtyard where the event was being held.
Smiling aunts, mothers and grandmothers – seasoned veterans of the kimjang – wrapped kimchi around bite-size slabs of pork and fed them to participants as they worked.
Across the table from the Larson family, Staff Sgt. Tonga Tukumoe'atu, a trombone player with the Eighth U.S. Army Band, his wife, Sharlene, and their three children appeared to have the process down to a science.
Now into their fifth year in Korea, this was the family's fourth kimchi-making event.
"It's a tradition now," Sharlene said.
More photos from the event: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaghumphreys/albums/72177720322005745