"Giving Up on Kimjang? There's Salted Cabbage!"... Haenam County Targets Gimpokoj

Gmarket to Host a "Kimjang Festival" Online and Offline
Pop-Up Store and 20% Off Online
Helping Farmers and Reigniting the Kimjang Boom

Haenam County, the country’s largest cabbage-producing area, is stepping up efforts to help farmers struggling with a bumper fall cabbage crop and a growing number of people giving up on kimjang, the traditional practice of making kimchi for winter. Through large-scale promotional sales and pop-up stores both online and offline, the county aims to reignite a nationwide kimjang boom and boost farm incomes.

Haenam County, part of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, will host the "2026 National Health Kimchi-Making Festival (with Haenam)" for three days, from November 17 to 19, in partnership with Gmarket, the country’s largest open marketplace.

Haenam County is partnering with Gmarket to host the "2026 National Health Kimjang Festival (with Haenam)." Courtesy of Haenam County.

The event was planned as simultaneous online and offline promotional sales to highlight the quality of Haenam’s premium salted cabbage to urban consumers and turn demand during the peak kimjang season into purchases of local agricultural specialties.

The offline event will kick off with a "Kimchi Pop-Up Store" run by Gmarket at Woorideul Park in Daejeon. Visitors can take part in kimchi-making and tasting activities, and a well-known chef will make kimchi and share their tips during a "Kimjang Live Broadcast." The county plans to draw urban residents with a variety of interactive events and prize giveaways, and turn their interest into actual purchases.

Online promotions will also get underway in earnest. Starting November 19, Gmarket will hold a "Premium Kimchi Promotional Sale" and open a dedicated online store for Haenam. Along with advance reservations for Haenam salted cabbage, the store will offer salted cabbage, kimjang seasoning and Ttangkkeut Haetsal rice at 20% off, significantly easing consumers’ grocery bills.

Haenam County will also actively join the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ "Add One More Head of Cabbage for Kimjang" campaign. The county expects "Haenam salted cabbage," which makes it easy to prepare kimchi without washing or salting the cabbage, to play a key role in reviving the fading tradition of kimjang.

In particular, the initiative is expected to secure a stable, large-scale sales channel for local farmers facing a double blow from a bumper fall cabbage crop and sluggish consumption, helping to increase their incomes.

A county official said, "More people are giving up on kimjang because they do not know how to make kimchi, but once they try using convenient salted cabbage, they will never have to give up on it." The official added, "We hope for strong interest and participation so that we can help farmers struggling with declining demand for kimjang and a bumper fall cabbage crop, while also promoting consumption of domestically produced agricultural products."

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