On the day of the kimchi-making gathering, Eun-chae woke before dawn. She had heard it would start at nine at the village community center.
“Gran, are you all ready?”
In the kitchen, Grandma was gathering up the salted seafood and red pepper flakes she had bought the day before.
“All done. Did you pack the apron and gloves?”
“Yeah, they’re right here.”
Eun-chae put an apron and rubber gloves in her backpack, along with a few sprigs of lettuce and herbs she had picked from the kitchen garden the day before. She planned to share them with the villagers.
“Gran, can I bring these?”
“Bring what?”
“The herbs and lettuce. I thought it might be nice to give people a little when I introduce myself.”
Grandma looked pleased.
“That’s a good idea.”
The two of them walked together to the village community center. By the time they arrived, several people had already gathered to wash the cabbages. The woman from next door spotted Eun-chae first and waved.
“Oh, Eun-chae’s here! Come over this way.”
“Hello!”
Eun-chae greeted them awkwardly and found a place in one corner of the yard. The community center’s yard was bustling with people washing cabbages, salting them, and preparing the seasoning.
“Gran, what should I do first?”
“Go help with salting the cabbages over there. I’ll go help make the seasoning.”
Eun-chae went over to where the cabbages were being salted. Several older women were already busy working.
“Come sit here and sprinkle the salt.”
Eun-chae did as she was told, sprinkling salt between the layers of cabbage. Her hands were clumsy, and salt scattered everywhere.
“Like this. Spread it evenly.”
The woman beside her took Eun-chae’s hand and corrected its direction. After repeating the motion a few times, Eun-chae got the hang of it.
“By the way, Eun-chae, I saw that thing—Instagram, was it? The pictures of your kitchen garden are really pretty.”
“Oh, you saw them? Thank you.”
“My daughter-in-law said she follows you. Young people these days keep up with everything through things like that.”
Eun-chae smiled shyly. It suddenly hit her that word of her account had spread throughout the village.
By the time they finished salting the cabbages, two hours had flown by. Eun-chae straightened her back and looked around the yard. Grandma was over there mixing the seasoning and laughing and chatting with the other women. It was a relaxed side of her Eun-chae hadn’t seen in a long time.
At lunchtime, a large table was set up in the community center’s yard. Alongside the salted cabbages, boiled pork and fresh kimchi were brought out as a snack.
“Come on, everyone, come eat something before we get back to work!”
At someone’s shout, people gathered around the table one by one. Eun-chae washed her hands and found a seat. Grandma sat down beside her and asked,
“Doing all right?”
“My arms hurt a little, but it’s fun.”
“That’s because it’s your first time. It’ll be much easier next time.”
A man sitting nearby handed Eun-chae a slice of boiled pork and struck up a conversation.
“I heard from Mr. Kim that you inherited the guesthouse from your grandmother. That’s impressive—a young person like you.”
“Oh, thank you. I’m still learning a lot.”
“Learning is the fastest way to get the hang of things. There aren’t many young people in our village, so everyone’s glad to have someone like you come here.”
Eun-chae felt a lump in her throat at his words. It was the first time she had ever felt so welcomed in an unfamiliar place.
After the meal, they got back to work. This time, it was time to spread the seasoning over the salted cabbages. Eun-chae sat beside Grandma and learned how to tuck the seasoning between each cabbage leaf.
“Gran, is this enough?”
Grandma picked up a cabbage and inspected it.
“You need to spread it farther in. If you only cover the outside, the flavor won’t soak in later.”
Eun-chae put her hands back to work. Her hands were burning from the seasoning, but strangely, she didn’t feel tired.
An older woman working beside her smiled at Eun-chae.
“You’ve got a knack for it. And you said this was your first time?”
“I learned from my grandmother.”
“Mr. Kim must have taught you well. That family’s cooking touch hasn’t gone anywhere.”
Grandma gave a faint smile at that. Eun-chae stole a glance at her smile and went back to working.
By late afternoon, the finished kimchi was piling up in large containers. When it was time to divide up everyone’s share to take home, the villagers naturally formed a line and collected their containers.
“Eun-chae, take this. You worked so hard today.”
The woman from next door handed her a container of kimchi with a smile.
“I should give you something, too.”
“You gave us lettuce and herbs earlier. That’s more than enough.”
Eun-chae took out the lettuce and herbs she had packed that morning and handed them out to a few people. Everyone was happy to accept the bright greens.
Just as the kimchi had been divided up and the cleanup was nearly finished, the village chief took the microphone and stepped forward.
“All right, everyone worked hard today! I’d like to say a few words before we wrap up.”
People stopped what they were doing and turned their attention toward him. Eun-chae washed her hands and looked over as well.
“You all know there’s a village festival next month, right? This time, we’ve decided to promote the village’s lodging businesses along with our local specialties.”
A murmur went through the crowd. Eun-chae listened closely.
“Since Sandeul Haven Guesthouse has a new young owner, we thought it might be nice for you to participate in the festival, too.”
The village chief looked toward Eun-chae as he spoke. Caught off guard by being singled out, Eun-chae turned to Grandma. Grandma gave her a faint smile and nodded.
“Um... What would I need to do to participate?”
When Eun-chae asked hesitantly, the village chief continued explaining.
“Each lodging business will take charge of a booth and introduce itself. You can display photos or introduce any hands-on programs you offer. Young people these days are good at social media, so promoting it that way would be perfect.”
The woman from next door chimed in.
“Eun-chae’s Instagram is already famous. You can put that to good use.”
Eun-chae’s mind raced at the sudden proposal. Participating in the festival was something she had never even considered.
“Um... Could I think about it and get back to you?”
“Of course. Take your time.”
After the village chief finished his announcement, people began gathering their things and dispersing. Standing beside Grandma, Eun-chae asked quietly,
“Gran, do you think I can do this?”
“Why couldn’t you? It’s a good opportunity.”
“But I’ve never run a booth before.”
“You’ll get better once you try. It was the same last time, wasn’t it?”
Eun-chae nodded. She thought back to the past few months, when all the things that had seemed unfamiliar at first had gradually become familiar, one by one.
On the way home, Eun-chae walked with the container of kimchi held against her chest, lost in thought. A festival booth, a hands-on program, ways to promote it. Several ideas were already beginning to take shape in her mind.
“Gran, I just thought of something fun.”
“What?”
“What if we did something like a kitchen garden experience at the booth? People could pick their own lettuce and make wraps with it.”
Grandma looked interested.
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“It would be a good way to promote the village, too. I should post about it on Instagram.”
Eun-chae quickened her pace and pulled out her phone. She held the container of kimchi in one hand and was already opening her photo gallery with the other.
“Gran, I took a few pictures while we were making kimchi. I think people will like them if I post them.”
Grandma tilted her head as she walked beside her.
“What did you take pictures of?”
“Salting the cabbages, mixing the seasoning, and you talking with the ladies earlier while you were smiling.”
“Did you get my face in them?”
“Yeah, but only from behind. Don’t worry, your face isn’t showing.”
As they walked, Eun-chae picked out a few photos and put together a post.
*“Today I went to the village kimchi-making gathering 🥬 It was my first time making kimchi, but everyone in the village taught me everything step by step, so I had a wonderful time learning. Next month, I’m planning to prepare a kitchen garden experience program for the village festival! I’d love for you to look forward to it :)”*
She added a few hashtags as well. #CountryGuesthouse #VillageKimchiMaking #KitchenGardenExperience #SandeulHavenGuesthouse
After pressing the post button, Eun-chae slipped her phone into her pocket with a satisfied smile.
“Gran, posting this means we’re promoting the festival ahead of time, too. It gets people excited for it.”
“So you take care of all that on your own, huh?”
“Yeah. I think it’s fun these days—figuring out how to show people things.”
By the time they reached the guesthouse, the sun was sinking low. The two of them put the containers of kimchi in the refrigerator, then sat on the veranda and reflected on the day.
“Gran, today was such a productive day. I learned how to make kimchi, and then we started talking about the festival.”
“It sure was. Seems like you’ve really settled into the village.”
Eun-chae smiled at that. The place she had arrived at just a few months ago, a stranger dragging a single suitcase behind her, now felt completely like her own.
Her phone rang. Several likes and comments had already appeared on her post.
*“Wow, I’m really looking forward to the kitchen garden experience!”* *“The kimchi-making looks so warm and homey haha”*
Eun-chae read through the comments one by one as she looked out at the yard. The lettuce and herbs in the kitchen garden swayed gently in the evening breeze.
Author’s Note
Through the kimchi-making gathering, I wanted to show Eun-chae becoming fully woven into the village, while also opening up a new event: next month’s festival. Starting in the next chapter, we’ll move on to the festival preparations. Thank you for staying with me this far.