[Goesan = E-Daily Reporter Han Jeon-jin ] As the knife cut into it, the napa cabbage split cleanly in two, revealing its yellow core. The core was packed tightly with no empty spaces, and it wouldn’t give even when pressed with a finger. The head next to it was different. When pressed firmly, it gave way easily. “It needs to be a little fuller. If we pickle it in this condition, it’ll fall apart,” said Choi Woo-sik, Director of the Farm Management Team at Yesodam. Kim Jong-in ( GS Retail(007070) ), a Merchandising Director (MD) for the Vegetable Team, who was standing in the field with him, placed his hand on each head to check its density. Even for pickled cabbage—which only requires mixing in seasoning at home—the process begins in the field with filling out the core.

The cabbage field in Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, which I visited on the 27th of last month, was just one week away from harvest. The variety planted in the 9,917-square-meter (approximately 3,000 pyeong) field was “Cheongmyeong Autumn.” The autumn cabbages grown under contract by Yesodam in this area cover 260,000 square meters (approximately 80,000 pyeong) and total 650,000 heads. More than half of this will be used for GS Retail’s pickled cabbage. The structure is such that Goesan farmers plant and grow the cabbage, the Yesodam work team harvests it, and it is pickled at the factory before being supplied to the SSM (corporate-owned supermarket) GS The Fresh and the convenience store GS25 for sale as a finished product. Yesodam supplies approximately 40% of GS The Fresh’s pickled cabbage.

Goesan has emerged as a major production area for kimchi cabbage due to its climate. Cabbage is a crop that thrives in cool temperatures. The daytime temperature that day was 17 degrees. Kim, the merchandising manager, said, “It’s the perfect temperature for the cabbage to fill out.” In the past, high-altitude cabbage from Gangwon Province was available until October, but due to climate change, supply during this period has decreased; meanwhile, Haenam cabbage is in season starting in December, when winter-stored cabbage becomes available. In the meantime, Goesan fills the gap during the November kimchi-making season. With a larger daily temperature range than in the south, the leaves are firm and crisp, yet the cabbage is easier to grow than the varieties from Gangwon. MD Kim described it as “a hybrid that combines the best features of Gangwon and southern cabbage.”

◇ Soaking for 18–24 hours, washing three times… Preparing 100 metric tons of kimchi per day by CHAEVI CO., LTD.

After a 30-minute drive, we arrived at the nearby Yesodam headquarters factory, where preparations for kimchi season were in Hanchang. In the brining room, cabbages cut in half were transported via conveyor belt and poured into stainless steel tanks. Instead of sprinkling salt, the cabbages are repeatedly submerged in brine with a salinity of 9–12% for 6 hours, then drained for 2 hours. During this process, moisture is drawn out of the cabbage and the salt permeates the leaves. After being brined for 18–24 hours, the cabbage undergoes trimming—where the outer leaves and core are removed—followed by three rounds of washing. Finally, workers wash the cabbage by hand to ensure consumers do not need to rinse it again. Workers lined up on both sides of the conveyor belt moved their hands busily as they trimmed and washed the cabbage.

During the one-and-a-half-month kimchi-making season, this factory produces 80 to 100 metric tons of salted napa cabbage per day. Considering the yield—where 100 kg of fresh napa cabbage yields 55 kg after salting—the amount of cabbage received is approximately double that amount. Yoon Byung-hak, CEO of Yesodam, said, “To produce 100 metric tons a day, we need 200 metric tons of cabbage—enough to fill 20 10-metric-ton trucks.” Since pickled cabbage is not seasoned, its freshness is immediately apparent. CEO Yoon explained, “Fresh pickled cabbage is bright green and glossy, while poor-quality cabbage looks dull.” He added, “We must strictly control the temperature from the moment it arrives from the field—through ozone disinfection and the final rinse with chilled water—to ensure the kimchi ferments crisply and without any off-flavors when prepared at home.”

The key to sustaining this large-scale supply is a cold storage facility capable of maintaining the freshness of 4,000 metric tons of cabbage and storing it for three months. CEO Yoon explained, “For every 1,000 pyeong of production space, we need 2,000 pyeong of storage space,” adding, “We were able to weather periods of reduced cabbage supply due to abnormal weather by relying on our stockpiles.” Although Goesan has long produced and sold pickled napa cabbage in farmers’ greenhouses, scaling up production has been slow relative to the quality of the product. Product Manager Kim noted, “Facilities capable of supplying Goesan napa cabbage in large quantities are rare,” adding, “Yeso Dam’s high quality standards are another reason we trust them.”

◇“If kimchi tastes bad even once, it’s over”… Choosing pickled cabbage that sets the tone for the year’s palate

Demand for salted napa cabbage is also on the rise. Sales of salted napa cabbage at GS Holdings increased by 20% year-over-year from the 1st to the 27th of last month. Sales of salted napa cabbage from Gangwon Province rose by 29%, while those from Goesan increased by 26.6%. According to GS Retail’s analysis, demand for domestically produced pickled cabbage with a clear origin has increased following recent safety concerns regarding Chinese cabbage. In particular, since kimjang—the annual kimchi-making ritual—involves preparing a year’s supply of kimchi all at once, the cost of failure is high. CEO Yoon stated, “The taste of kimchi is determined by the cabbage and the pickling process; if it’s good, customers will return for it the following year, but if they’re disappointed even once, they won’t buy it again.”

Most pre-salted napa cabbage is sold through advance reservations. This year, pre-salted napa cabbage from Goesan and Gangwon will be supplied to stores starting on the 5th of this month, while that from Haenam will be available starting on the 11th. The peak demand period is around November 21 and 28. Additional orders for this period are already being restricted. Cabbage merchandisers begin checking the dates for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) every year. A kimchi merchandiser noted, “Since kimjang is a family event, many households make kimchi after the CSAT ends,” adding, “Since the test is on the 19th this year, orders will likely surge over the following weekend.”

Although the number of households making kimchi is decreasing, sales of pre-salted cabbage are increasing every year. This shift in the kimchi-making landscape is supported by a division of labor in which producers grow the cabbage, processing plants salt it, and distributors sell it. MD Kim said, “Rather than skipping kimchi-making altogether, more households are buying pre-salted cabbage and preparing it to suit their family’s taste, making pre-salted cabbage a core product,” adding, “We will maintain the quality and stable supply that customers can trust this year as well by managing everything from selection at the production sites to the salting process.”