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The pots on the flat roof in this picture are traditional Kimchi fermentation pots. Koreans usually
eat
kimchi
with every meal, even breakfast. It's a spicy-hot, pungent, fermented vegetable dish,
usually containing cabbage. In the old days, it was put up in these large pots every
autumn, and the pots were buried to keep the temperature just right for fermentation. Many of these pots today sit empty, or hold something else -- soy sauce, for example. Today Koreans are often too busy to make their own kimchi, and buy it at the supermarket. Some Koreans, particularly ajomma (middle aged and older women) still make their own, though. For those who do, the latest hot gadget is the dedicated kimchi refrigerator. In 2002, these specialized appliances actually outsold conventional refrigerators in Korea.
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