South Korea from Serena Kimchi Part 2

Kimchi is the general term given to a group of fermented vegetable foods in Korea. Kimchi has been traditionally served as a "must" at almost every meal along with cooked rice and other dishes.
Kimchi varieties are determined by the main vegetable ingredients and the mix of seasonings used to flavor the kimchi. The most popular type of kimchi is the baechu (a type of Chinese cabbage) variety but there are many regional and seasonal varieties. Popular variants include ggakdugi which is a kimchi made with cubed radishes, pa-kimchi (made with scallions),chonggak-kimchi and oisobagi (hangul: 오이소박이), a cucumber kimchi with hot and spicy seasonings. Kkaennip (hangul: 깻잎) kimchi features layers of perilla leaves marinated in soy sauce and vinegar and other spices. Mugeunji which is baechu-kimchi is fermented longer and is good for kimchi-jjigae (kimchi stew).
The Kimchi Field Museum in Seoul has documented 187 historic and current varieties of kimchi. Although the most common seasonings include brine, garlic, scallions and ground chili pepper, seasonings and ingredients can be replaced or added depending on the type of kimchi being made. Common seasonings also include ginger, onions, low-sodium aekjeot (hangul: 액젓, fish sauce) and as well as fruit or fresh seafood. Aekjeot has replaced high-sodium myeolchijeot (salted fermented anchovies) and saeujeot (salted fermented small shrimps) since the early 1970s.
Kimchi varieties
Kimchi can be categorized by main ingredients, regions or seasons. Korea's northern and southern sections have a considerable temperature difference.[8] Northern regions tend to have longer winters compared to the southern regions of Korea. Kimchi from the northern parts of Korea tend to have less salt as well as less red chilli and usually do not have brined seafood for seasoning. Northern kimchi often has a watery consistency. Kimchi made in the southern parts of Korea, such as Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do, uses salt, chili peppers and myeolchijeot (Hangul: 멸치젓, brined anchovy allowed to ferment) or saeujeot (hangul: 새우젓, brined shrimp allowed to ferment), myeolchiaekjeot (Hangul: 멸치액젓, "kkanariakjeot" 까나리액젓, liquid anchovy jeot, similar to fish sauce used in Southeast Asia, but thicker). In the Seoul area saeujeot is preferred.
Saeujeot (hangul: 새우젓) or meyolchijeot is not added to the kimchi spice-seasoning mixture, but is simmered to reduce odors, eliminate tannic flavor and fats, and then is mixed with a thickener made of rice or wheat starch (Hangul: 풀). This technique has been falling into oblivion for the past 40 years.