[Make It or Buy It?] "Exactly 800 Boxes a Day"... Premium Haenam Salted Cabbage Makes Its Way to the Table

4. Kimjang No. 1 Report - On the Ground

Inside Nongbu Samchon’s Busy Cabbage-Salting Plant, a Pulmuone Supplier

Strict Hygiene and Vinegar Farming Give Its Cabbage a Competitive Edge

Challenges Include Communication Among Workers from Multiple Countries and Soaring Supply Costs

"We make exactly 800 boxes a day. Quality is what gives our factory its competitive edge."

At around 7 a.m. on Nov. 12, at the cabbage-salting plant of Nongbu Samchon Farming Corporation in Bukpyeong-myeon, Haenam-gun.

At around 7 a.m. on the 12th, Kim Gwangsu, CEO of Nongbu Samchon Agricultural Corporation, explains how salted cabbage is made at the company’s cabbage salting plant in Bukpyeong-myeon, Haenam County. Photo by Min Changi

Although it was still early, workers were already moving busily around the factory, each at their station, preparing salted cabbage.

The first place visitors encountered before entering the work area was a hygiene room. The walls were densely covered with 12 personal hygiene rules, including "Produce food with the mindset that your own family will eat it" and "Never think that it won't matter if just one person neglects the rules," as well as the seven principles and 12 procedures of HACCP and a table of standards for managing harmful microorganisms. Only after putting on sanitary clothing, a sanitary cap and a mask without leaving any gaps could visitors enter the production area.

Inside, around 30 workers lined both sides of a continuously moving conveyor belt, working in unison. Cabbages that had been deemed unmarketable were first sorted out at harvest in the fields. Workers then placed the cabbages, which had been brined for 24 hours, onto the belt.

Wearing red or yellow rubber gloves, the workers skillfully and precisely trimmed the cabbage bases on white cutting boards. After three rounds of washing and draining, the cabbages moved along the conveyor belt. Carefully checking the readings on electronic scales, the workers packed them with care into boxes lined with plastic bags. The packed boxes then moved directly to vacuum sealing and refrigerated storage.

Kim Gwangsu, CEO of Nongbu Samchon Farming Corporation, said, "No matter how good the cabbage harvest is or how much product we have, we never produce more than exactly 800 boxes a day, based on 20 kilograms per box. If we increase production, the quality of washing and salting inevitably declines."

The salted cabbage produced here is evenly brined, giving it a crisp texture and consistent saltiness. Thanks to rigorous quality control, the company has supplied it directly to consumers and to Pulmuone, a major food company, for five years.

Kim entered the cabbage farming business 15 years ago and established the salting plant 10 years ago to address what he calls "the vicious cycle of destroying crops at their place of origin." When the price of raw cabbage plunges, farmers cannot find buyers and have to plow their fields under. Even the cost of using a tractor to do so falls entirely on the farmers.

He grows cabbage on a 25,000-pyeong field using a "vinegar farming method" he developed himself. This eco-friendly method uses acetic acid in vinegar to support crop growth and help plants withstand pests, disease and drought. Kim said proudly, "Since adopting the vinegar farming method, the cabbage hearts have become denser and the roots have grown stronger, so we've stopped losing cabbages to rot in the fields."

Seasonal workers pack salted cabbage into boxes at the Nongbu Samchon Agricultural Corporation's cabbage-pickling facility in Bukpyeong-myeon, Haenam-gun, at around 7 a.m. on the 12th. Photo by Min Changi

Guided by the belief that you have to stay five years ahead of others to survive, he is also responding quickly to changes in kimjang culture. As the number of people making kimjang continues to decline, he has developed and started selling "kimjang seasoning" to ease the burden of buying ingredients such as chili powder and salted seafood. He is also considering entering the market for fully prepared kimchi mixed with seasoning.

The pressing challenges facing rural communities were also evident. The demanding workday, which runs from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., was sustained almost entirely by foreign seasonal workers, with only a few family members among them.

In the past, workers from just one or two countries, such as Thailand, made up most of the workforce. Recently, however, workers have come from a wider range of countries, including Vietnam and Cambodia, making communication at the worksite a new obstacle. The result is an unusual scene in which instructions for each stage of production, covering hygiene rules, precise knife work and weighing, have to be conveyed in multiple languages.

Kim called for the government and local authorities to urgently strengthen practical policies to ensure the long-term viability of the salted cabbage industry.

"Support measures tailored to modernizing facilities and transitioning businesses are needed so that second-generation farmers who follow in their parents' footsteps and people returning to rural areas can adapt to rapidly changing processing and distribution conditions," Kim said. "Above all, cabbage prices fluctuate wildly every year, while fixed costs such as fertilizer, inner plastic film, boxes and labor keep rising. The government must ensure a minimum price floor through stable supply-and-demand management."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.