Kimchi is a national Korean dish consisting of fermented chili peppers and vegetables, usually based on cabbage. It is suspected that the name kimchi originated from shimchae (salting of vegetable) which went through some phonetic changes: shimchae > dimchae > kimchae > kimchi.
Kimchi has been cited by Health Magazine as one of the world's five "healthiest foods", with the claim that it is rich in vitamins, aids digestion, and may even prevent cancer.
Kimchi's composition separates into the main vegetable ingredient and the mix of seasonings used to flavor the kimchi. Kimchi comes in other forms than spicy or red. White kimchi (baekkimchi), seasoned without the chili pepper grind, and white radish kimchi (dongchimi), a popular kimchi without spice. Koreans eat a popular dish of cold noodles in "donchimi" brine widely during the summer months.
Types of kimchi differ from region to region, depending on harvest and weather conditions. Each family also has its own recipe handed down from generation to generation. The number of specific kimchi types can’t be easily counted. However, the Korean Food Academy has categorized over 100 different types.
The flavor depends on ingredients, condiments, the amount of salt, and level of spice used in each region. Korea's various regions produce different types of agricultural products, and this is reflected in each region's type of kimchi. The southern provinces (North and South Cholla Provinces and North and South Kyongsang Provinces) tend to use more salt and seafood so the taste is stronger and sweeter. To the north, kimchi tastes less salty and is very mild.