November is one of the busiest months for
North Koreans, who must complete the kimjang [making of kimchi] process. Kimchi
made during this period is considered “half the year’s food supply,” and compared to South Korea
where there is plenty to eat, in the North it helps people survive through the
long, cold winter.
An average four-member family will need
400-500 kg of cabbage and radish for kimjang, according to defectors. This
dwarfs the amount used by most South Korean families.
For this reason, North Koreans during this
period go through a “kimjang war.” In bad years like this year, when extreme droughts and insects have
plagued the crops, they even smuggle in cabbages and radishes for kimjang from
China. This is because they need to secure their half year’s worth of food at whatever cost.
The Daily NK spoke with a defector, Lee
Geum Sun [alias, age 54], who is from South Pyongan Province and escaped the
country in 2012, to learn more about the kimjang culture in the North and how
it differs from in the South.
Daily NK [DNK]: In South Korea, people
usually do their kimjang in late November. How about in the North?
Lee Geum Sun [LEE]: It’s a little different depending on the region. South Pyongan and
Hwanghae Provinces usually begin mid-November. In colder northern regions such
as North Hamgyung Province, I’ve heard they start about
two weeks earlier.
DNK: In the South, families usually get
together to do their kimjang. Is that the case in the North?
LEE: Usually, two to three siblings will
decide on a date to do it and then they get together at their parents’ place. But if they are far away or can’t
come, they sometimes invite neighbors. In this case, they must compensate the
neighbors, but it’s not with money. Usually, they give
them enough food for a meal. There are of course cases when both families find
themselves with no one to help them and then they will mutually help each
other.
DNK: Can you get a day off from factories
or other work?
LEE: Because it is the day that they
prepare their “food supply for the next half year,” they do give them a day off. Even if someone has used all their
leave days, they will find a way to grant them a day off to ensure they get
their kimjang done. For manufacturing units, to prevent a large number of
people from missing work, they plan out “kimjang teams.”
DNK: A lot of ingredients for the seasoning
are required in the South. How do North Koreans go about it?
LEE: The basics would be cabbages,
radishes, red chili powder, garlic, sugar, and oil. In the North, jeotgal
[salted seafood used commonly in seasoning] is cheap, so it’s not difficult to get your hands on. In South Pyongan Province,
they add a lot, so it has a fishier scent, while in North Hamgyung Province,
they have access to squid so sometimes they add it to the kimchi. People
usually like having more seasoning than less.
DNK: People make various types of kimchi in
the South. Is that also the case in the North?
LEE: Cabbage and radish kimchi are
standard. In the case of better-off families, they also make leaf mustard
kimchi. But unlike here [the South], almost no one makes scallion kimchi, young
radish kimchi, or even dongchimi [radish water kimchi]. Cabbage kimchi is
usually fermented for a month before it’s consumed. And
before that, people mostly keep their radish kimchi on the heated area of their
floors [ every home is equipped with ondol, traditional underfloor heating
system] and eat it as it ripens. Because there’s not
enough to eat in the North, quantity rules over quality. They also think that
if they want to make it taste better, they can just add in more seasoning
later.
DNK: The vegetable harvest this year is not
good I heard. So does this mean a lot of people won’t
be able to do their kimjang.
LEE: For families that are struggling, it’s hard to even get enough cabbages. They sometimes go to fields
where harvest is done and pick through for cabbages they can salvage. They won’t even be able to prepare any red chili powder, so they just make it
without. They pickle the cabbage with salt, doing their kimjang that way, and
then just sprinkle on some chili powder later when they eat it. In the case of
dormitories for factory workers, they usually make their kimchi white this way.
For those well off enough to eat corn
kernels mixed in with a bit of rice, they do their kimjang with 200 kg of
cabbage and 500 g of red chili powder. It’s just
enough to show that seasoning was used. Since there’s
only a tiny bit of seasoning inside the cabbage leaves, it’s not for anyone else but just for household consumption.
DNK: I feel like marketization has probably
helped change the kimjang culture.
LEE: There’s less
monitoring in the markets, so if you go sell something, most people can at
least make a living. If they are at that level, they can prepare ingredients
that give them enough seasoning for the inside and outside of the cabbage.
Depending on their level of income, they use different ingredients for the
seasoning. For those who make enough, they add in pollack, or for others better
off, I heard they sometimes add pork.
DNK: What is it like for cadres?
LEE:Cadres actually don’t do a lot of kimjang; they also go easy with the seasoning. This is
because they don’t eat that much kimchi. For the
average person, kimchi is essential, but for them it’s
more a preference.
DNK: In the South, when people do kimjang,
they usually eat steamed pork with it. Is there anything like that in the
North?
LEE: We usually eat mock meat [made from
soy beans], tofu with rice, or pureed soybean soup. Those who are better off
eat bulgogi [marinated barbecued beef] or dumpling soup. But only women do the kimjang, and men just sit
on one side and eat. The most they do is dig a pit to bury the kimchi pots. I
don’t know if even 20 percent of the men help. Some
people even say men can help most on kimjang day by going somewhere else.
DNK: It sounds like it’s very rough on the women.
LEE: It’s like
carrying a sack on your back. It’s horrible, and some
even say it feels like working at a labor training camp. If water isn’t provided, you have to even pump your own water, so it feels like
you’ve gone through a battle once kimjang is over. But
it’s also a time when women get to share their gossip.
They complain about their husbands and also talk about what it’s like in the markets and make it a fun atmosphere.
DNK: Do you bury the kimchi underground in
the North?
LEE: Unlike the South, where there are
special kimchi refrigerators in homes, most people don’t
have that in the North, so they typically bury them underground. In the case of
apartments, there is a warehouse where they stack up coal outdoors, so that’s where they bury the pots.
DNK: How long does the kimjang last for
people in the North?
LEE: By mid-February in the following year,
most of it is gone. By late that month, you’ll see
vendors selling kimchi in the markets. People usually think that it’s pricey for not having much seasoning, but despite that it’s still popular. By early March, families are worried about what to
put on the table, so this is when kimchi sells well.
