A festival was held to help neighbors in difficulty get through winter with kimchi made with a mother’s love. On November 6, 2019 the 16th Kimchi-Making Festival was held by the Intl. WeLoveU Foundation at Hwaseong Haenggung Palace square. Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah, WeLoveU directors, and 300 WeLoveU members took part in the festival. Suwon Cultural Foundation President Park Rae-heon, and Suwon City Congressman Kim Gi-jeong, along with other people from all walks of life participated in this kimchi-making festival, and shared love.
Health and happiness to neighbors through kimchi made with a mother’s love
“Kimchi-Making Festival with the Heart of a Mother” is WeLoveU’s annual event held every year at the beginning of winter. WeLoveU makes kimchi (a winter season food) themselves and delivers it to neighbors in need. The members wholeheartedly prepare in advance the ingredients to be used in making kimchi such as salted cabbages, kimchi seasoning paste, and more.
On the day of the event, volunteers diligently prepared to make kimchi by laying out the salted cabbages and other ingredients on the workbenches from early in the morning. At 10:30 a.m., Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah and the volunteers who were going to make kimchi together with her stood in front of the workbenches, wearing bright red aprons and bandanas. Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah and the volunteers filled the space between the cabbages with kimchi seasoning paste made with 20 kinds of vegetables and seafood.
Delicious kimchi even tastier when made with a mother’s love
Housewives from foreign countries also participated in the 16th Kimchi-Making Festival with the Heart of a Mother. Rup Maya GURUNG, who came from Nepal and has been in Korea for 8 years, said, “I like kimchi but it’s my first time to make it. My four-year old daughter loves kimchi, so with the heart of a mother who thinks of her daughter, I’m trying to learn how to make kimchi.”
The delicious kimchi slowly started to appear from the earnest hands of the volunteers filled with mother’s love. The spicy and savory smell of the kimchi caught the attention of neighbors in the area and passersby and brought their footsteps to the event. They viewed the Kimchi-Making Festival with the Heart of a Mother introduction panels and even sampled the freshly made kimchi. Everyone who sampled the kimchi, regardless of age, gender, or nationality, gave a thumbs up and also brought laughter to the volunteers’ faces.
Warm comfort conveyed through kimchi
The WeLoveU volunteers neatly packaged the 8,000 kg [17,600 lbs] of freshly made kimchi into 10 kg [22 lbs] packages. The packaged kimchi was delivered to 800 households in Suwon, Seongnam, Youngin, and Hwaseong. Officials from the local governments who received the packages from the event, expressed their appreciation to the WeLoveU for sharing love with their neighbors for over 17 years.
It’s not easy for those in difficulties to make kimchi because the price of ingredients has gone up. I’m sure the senior citizens will be able to spend their winter in good health this year, too, thanks to the healthy kimchi from the WeLoveU. I’m grateful for your help, and I hope that you will continue to hold these meaningful events in the future.
Seongnam City Hall Official
After the event, Chairwoman Zahng Gil-ja visited some neighbors in Hwaseo-dong, Suwon: senior citizens living alone and a woman in her 50s who was taking care of her mother who had a stroke. Chairwoman presented them with kimchi, rice, blankets, and heating expenses, along with some words of comfort to stay healthy and warm even in the coming winter. On this day, it was not only kimchi but also the love of a mother that was delivered to them.
