In Korea, there is a separate kimchi refrigerator, which mainly stores kimchi.

If you are not Korean, you may not understand the origin of the kimchi refrigerator. Let me briefly talk about the origin of the kimchi refrigerator. First, we can't talk about kimchi refrigerators without talking about kimchi.

The Origin of Kimchi

Kimchi began to be called by various names, and records appeared in the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). Kimchi was stored in earthenware jars and buried in the ground. The reason for this is that Korea has a distinct four seasons, and during the summer, the hot and humid weather caused kimchi to ferment or spoil too quickly.

Not only in the summer, but also in the winter, there was a risk that the kimchi would not ferment properly due to the extreme cold.

For these reasons, kimchi was stored in earthenware jars and the jars were buried in the ground. The reason was to maintain a constant temperature throughout the summer and winter.

In the past, there were many detached houses in Korea, but nowadays most people prefer apartments. The reason why people prefer apartments is... I'll tell you about that another time.

In the case of detached houses, there was a front or back yard in front of the house where they could dig a hole, but in apartments, it is a common area and they cannot dig. So, at first, kimchi was stored in the refrigerator.

Disadvantages of storing kimchi in a general refrigerator

• The temperature changes frequently because the door is opened and closed often to take out water or other things.
• The temperature of the refrigerator is generally maintained at 2-5 degrees Celsius.
• The smell of kimchi often fills the refrigerator.

Kimchi does not freeze at -1~2 degrees Celsius thanks to the salt content, and this temperature needs to be maintained to preserve the flavor of kimchi, so people started using kimchi-specific refrigerators.

If you refer to the attached image above, the one on the left is a traditional kimchi refrigerator that was developed early on and has been used for a long time. The one on the right is a new type of kimchi refrigerator that is popular these days.

Top-opening kimchi refrigerator

• If you think about earthenware jars, this design is very familiar.
• Most kimchi refrigerators are designed to take out food from the top to prevent cold air from escaping.
• Considering that hot air rises and cold air sinks, this is a very good structure.

Stand-type kimchi refrigerator similar to a general refrigerator

Stand-type kimchi refrigerators, unlike general refrigerators, have many additional features such as compartment separation and cold air preservation capsules to prevent cold air from escaping at once.

And many people use the top or bottom compartment as a general refrigerator. In other words, it is used as a secondary refrigerator.

Current Uses of Kimchi Refrigerators in Korea

The reason why they started using kimchi refrigerators is because of kimchi, but now they are becoming very popular as secondary refrigerators. For example, in the past, kimchi refrigerators sold well in October before kimchi-making season, but now they sell steadily regardless of the season.

Uses

In addition to kimchi, they are also used to store vegetables, fruits, meat, drinks, and alcohol. Or, they are also used to ripen sashimi, thaw frozen meat/processed food, and seafood with minimal damage.

By the way... many people store soju in kimchi refrigerators. It becomes a really delicious temperature, you know. ㅎㅎ

What do you think?

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