The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC), in partnership with the Washington, D.C. Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (MOAPIA) and Tae-Gu Kimchi, proudly presents DC’s First Kimjang: Making and Sharing Kimchi, a hands-on culinary event inviting the public to experience the flavors and social dynamic of Korea’s most iconic food at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. on November 17 at 6:00 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)

Just in time for Kimchi Day on November 22, the evening will include a kimchi-making demonstration, talk, and tasting with chef Patrice Cunningham, who will discuss her African American and Korean heritage and the important role of foods like kimchi in her own identity while establishing her business, Tae-Gu Kimchi.

Visitors can sample a range of Cunningham’s kimchi varieties over rice and then try their hand at mixing their own kimchi to take home in a free communal workshop following the talk—a time-honored community-building tradition known in Korea as kimjang.

In Korea, kimjang often happens once or twice a year as a way for communities to collectively stock up on and share essential foods. It is especially common in fall around the time of Thanksgiving, or its Korean counterpart holiday, Chuseok. Although a labor-intensive process rooted in the tight-knit rural communities of the past, the culinary, bonding, and even cathartic healing benefits of kimjang remain a universally treasured aspect of Korean culture in modern times.

DC’s First Kimjang will happen at an auspicious time for Korea’s national dish. The year 2023 marks 10 years since the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed kimjang—defined as making and sharing kimchi—on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. Washington, D.C., Maryland, Viriginia, and several other states also already recognize Kimchi Day on November 22, and the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to adopt a similar resolution on the national level this December, mirroring national celebrations in the Republic of Korea on the same day. This event is also part of the ongoing celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US Alliance in 2023.