By region
The same cabbage, four hours apart
The further south you go, the harder the seasoning works. Warm weather sours kimchi faster, so southern households push back with more salt, more chilli and more fermented seafood. Northern kitchens, with winter doing the preserving for them, could leave it mild and watery.
- 강원도
Gangwon
Mountains on one side, a cold sea on the other. Light on chilli, light on salted fish.
오징어김치 · 명태김치
Mild - 서울·경기
Seoul & Gyeonggi
The balanced middle. Fish sauce used with restraint, nothing allowed to dominate.
보쌈김치 · 장김치
Balanced - 충청도
Chungcheong
The plainest of them all, deliberately. Salt does the work and the crunch is the point.
석박지 · 나박김치
Plain - 경상도
Gyeongsang
Blunt and forceful. Heavy garlic, heavy chilli, anchovy sauce doing the salting.
멸치젓 · 마늘
Strong - 전라도
Jeolla
The richest table in the country. Deep red, loaded with fermented seafood.
갓김치 · 젓갈
Richest - 제주도
Jeju
An island that barely freezes, so little needs storing. Made small, eaten soon.
동지김치
Its own thing