Napa cabbage salted, slathered in red chilli paste with garlic, ginger, fish sauce and salted shrimp, then fermented to a brightly sour-spicy crunch. Eaten with every Korean meal and the heart of Seoul's banchan culture.

Kimchi traces to at least the Three Kingdoms period (1st century BCE) as a method to preserve vegetables for Korean winters. The spicy red baechu version we know today only emerged after Portuguese traders introduced chillies via Japan in the 17th century; before that, kimchi was salt-only. Seoul households still hold kimjang (the autumn collective making of winter kimchi) in November; UNESCO inscribed kimjang as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013. Kimchi varieties exceed 200, but baechu kimchi is the Seoul default; the city's flavour leans slightly less spicy and slightly sweeter than Jeolla or Busan versions.

3 editor picks for Kimchi (Baechu) in Seoul, ranked by editorial score. All Seoul signature dishes · Kimchi (Baechu) across every city.

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Kimchi (Baechu) makes more sense with someone from Seoul explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Book food experiences in Seoul

See all 645 bookable experiences in Seoul