Jeanie Chang, Jennifer Yu, Ryan Koo. [KACIE 제공]
Last year, the California State Assembly established November 22 as the “Kimchi Day”. To mark its first anniversary this year, the American Western Korean Food Globalization Association will hold the “2022 Korea Kimchi Festival” at LA Harbor College at Wilmington on the 12th.
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Kimchi Cooking Contest on the day of the event, a total of 12 chefs and culinary students will showcase creative dishes using Kimchi. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Professor Hwang Hye-min of LA Harbor College will demonstrate the cabbage kimchi mixing event and will make kimchi herself with 80 invited guests. Following the demonstration, there also will be live performances, such as Taekwondo, Nanta, and K-pop.
LA Harbor College Festival on the 12th
Influencers participating in KACIE events
Korean Soul Food will hold festival in OC
In addition, the event will serve 600 servings of boiled pork, kimchi, and gimbap at the site for festival’s participants to experience Korean kimchi culture.
Lim Jong-taek, the chairman of the Western Korean Food Globalization Association, said, “We are glad to hold the festival again this year, following the previous events at the Source OC in Buena Park in 2020 and the Korean Consulate General in 2021”, adding “I hope this event becomes an opportunity for the event-participants to experience Korean kimchi culture.”
After the traditional kimchi-making event, KACIE, a non-profit organization, will have LA Kimchi Festival in Hollywood from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. with six Korean influencers.
The event will offer a kimchi tasting event as well as a demonstration of making kimchi, stand-up comedy and also cosmetics booths. The influencers including comedian Ryan Koo, Chef Kevin Lee, The Korean Vegan, and The Crunch Bros will be participating in the event and at the same time will be broadcasted live on Facebook and Instagram.
Cindy Shin, CEO of KACIE, said, “We are holding the festival with the influencers to promote kimchi to the mainstream and to promote cultural exchange between different local communities.”
The Korean Soul Food Foundation will also hold the second Kimchi Festival in Orange County early next year again, following last year’s event.
The event, organized to inform the local community of the taste and history of kimchi, will provide various events, such as K-pop, vocal music, Taekwondo demonstration, singing contest, as well as “Kimchi Making Experience” and “Korean Play Culture” with Korean traditional snacks.
The chairman of the Korean Soul Food Foundation, Carol Lee said, “This year, we will be selling kimchi in addition to the kimchi making event”, and “As K-food is getting its popularity globally, I hope to make this festival a ground for local communities of all generations to gather and have fun together”.
by Lee Eun-Young
