We start our journey in the far south-western tip of Korea, in the picturesque rural community of Haenam. This is a land of rugged mountains and brilliant seasides. And lots and lots of cabbage. Sprawling, rolling hills of the stuff.

Cabbage is the chief ingredient of kimchi. Several regions across Korea produce cabbage, most notably the highland areas on rugged Gangwon-do Province. Haenam, however, produces 70% of the country¡¯s ¡°winter cabbage,¡± a hardy variety that yields especially crunchy kimchi with a uniquely sweet flavor.

Up until the 1970s, Koreans considered it impossible to grow cabbage in the cold winter. In the mid-1970s, however, farmers on Jeju Island began cultivating a breed of cabbage that thrived in lower temperatures. In the 1980s, farmers began cultivating the crop in Haenam, where the mild winter temperatures and maritime conditions proved ideal. It takes only 90 days to raise the crop, which farmers typically harvest in mid-November.

Traditionally, families produced large amounts of kimchi in autumn and stockpiled it for the winter months. With the advent of winter cabbage, however, Koreans now make fresh kimchi throughout the winter, with some families stockpiling kimchi in late winter to eat through spring and summer.

Winter cabbage grows in the bright autumn sun. © Clipartkorea

Cabbage awaits the kimjang. © Imagetoday

As you know, Koreans have a proud history of fermentation. This tradition extends to seafood as well. Jeotgal, especially its liquefied form called aekjeot, is a common ingredient in kimchi, lending it a distinctively salty flavor.

From Haenam, head north about two hours until you reach the Byeonsan Peninsula and the seaside town of Buan. Best known as the home of Byeonsanbando National Park, with its spectacular autumn colors and dramatic coastal cliffs, Buan is also home to some of Korea¡¯s finest salted seafood, or jeotgal.

You need fresh seafood to make tasty jeotgal. Locals catch fish in spring, when the fish are fat. The fish are salted the day they are caught and left to mature for a year. After maturing for a year, the fish is kept at a constant temperature in the basement for another year for a secondary maturation.

The small fishing port of Gomso in Buan produces high quality jeotgal, partly thanks to the large salt farms nearby. Visitors must be sure to try the local jeotgal baekban: rice, soup and a platter of jeotgal, served with broiled hairtail.

Merchant bags jeotgal in Buan¡¯s jeotgal market.

Salted shrimp is a common ingredient in kimchi.