김장
Kimjang community
UNESCO-listed winter kimchi-making — labor, neighbors, and a year’s sour insurance.
A season, not a recipe
김장 is the late-autumn event when families salt napa by the box and pack jars for winter. Neighbors trade labor. It is listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage because the social form matters as much as the chili. Apartment Korea still does a smaller kimjang; some people now buy from a factory and keep the gathering anyway.