Seoul Kimchi Class Review 2026 (Kimchi Academy)

An unsponsored Seoul Kimchi Class Review- I paid for the Kimchi Academy class myself so I'm totally honest about what was good and what was not!

Jump to:

• Kimchi Academy
• Types of Classes
• What It Involves
• What I Didn't Like

Kimchi is such a huge part of Korean food and culture! My Korean friend living in Singapore refuses to eat any kimchi here because he says it's not authentic, so I thought what could be better than learning to make Kimchi in Seoul?

Note: if you want to learn more about kimchi, the science and history, visit Museum Kimchikan in Insa-dong.

Kimchi Academy

There are actually several people offering Kimchi Classes in Seoul but I booked the one offered by Kimchi Academy.

One of the best things about the Kimchi Academy kimchi making class was its location and its comprehensiveness (you could choose to make more than 1 type of Kimchi.)

It was held in a traditional Korean house, or hanok, in Bukchon-dong. The location was a huge part of the reason I chose it, as I love wandering round the Insadong-Ikseondong-Bukchondong area and think they should definitely be part of any Seoul travel plan.

For those with mobility issues, there's also this Gyeongbokgung tour that picks you up from your hotel. includes a tea ceremony and has a shorter, 30-min kimchi making session.

Types of Classes

It offers 2 types of classes:

• a standard class: you make 700-900g of baechu kimchi (cabbage kimchi- the most common type)
• a professional class: you make 4 types of kimchi, including a Ssamm Kimchi with oysters wrapped in cabbage leaves which is fairly uncommon (First time I'd seen this in Kimchi in my 10 trips to Korea.) At the end, you get a certificate in a velvet folder.

The Kimchi Experience is designed for total beginners, so you don't need to know anything about cooking or Korean cuisine to benefit from it.

Both courses end with you eating a kimchi pancake/ kimchi-jeon. (Made by the teacher's husband, not you.) You'll be given what you made, which will be sealed in an airtight bag for you (but not vacuum packed.)

The price is also very reasonable (for the standard class): cheaper than what you pay for a kimchi-making class in Busan.

What It Involves

When you arrive, you are served Korean tea and wait inside the hanok till everyone has arrived. (The class was fully booked and there were over 10 of us.) There are a few Korean-design aprons for you to choose from.

The ingredients are prepared for you, so once everyone is there, you can get straight to the work of making kimchi. (After washing your hands of course!)

The experience is designed to be like you're making kimchi with a friend so there is no written recipe. Instead, the lady tells you what to do (She speaks English and a bit of Chinese and Japanese.) As your hands will be too dirty to take notes- you are given plastic gloves to wear so you don't have to worry about your hands smelling- you can email to ask for the written recipe.

I like that the instructor also tells you about the substitutions you can make, for example, if you don't have glutinous rice flour at home. In addition, she goes out of her way to take lots of photos for everyone, so you'll have plenty of photos to document your Korean cooking class!

I made:

• Baechu Kimchi (the regular Cabbage Kimchi you get at all Korean restaurants- this is made with the Standard Course participants)
• Ssamm Kimchi (Oyster Kimchi wrapped in Cabbage leaves- unusual and highlight of the day)
• Radish Kimchi
• Cucumber Kimchi

Once I finished making the kimchi, the instructor took it to be sealed in a silver bag for ease of bringing home. (It's securely sealed but NOT vaccum packed.) I was invited back to the "living room" where I was served a Kimchi Pancake (Kimchi Jeon) made by the instructor's husband.

I'll be honest- it's not the best Kimchi Pancake I've ever had (not crispy enough) but the whole experience was fun! (Also I'm a bit picky since I am an Asian food blogger!)

What I Didn't Like

All in all I thought the day was a good experience and am happy I did the Kimchi Class. However, there are 2 things I would change about the Day:

• Whilst I had a lot of fun, I think the day is better described as a Kimchi Making Experience and not really a Kimchi Class since we weren't even given printed recipes! How can we make Kimchi at home without the recipe? (Yes you are told to email but that's a bit more hassle.) Sorry if this is nitpicking but it's an occupational hazard as a recipe writer.
• I paid triple the amount to take the Professional Kimchi Course (as opposed to the Standard one) so I think it was unfair that I was grouped together with the Standard Course. (i.e. the class size was quite large.) I felt that this resulted in quite a rushed experience. (It felt like we spent more time on the Cabbage Kimchi than the other 3 combined!) If 10 people had booked the Professional Course, I think that would have been OK, but to ask me to change the time of my course without telling me that I would be grouped with the Standard Course is not very fair, in my opinion. If you are just taking the Standard Course, then I highly recommend Kimchi Academy. However, if you don't like seafood- the highlight of the Professional Course is the Oyster Kimchi- but want to learn to make more than 1 type of Kimchi, then consider this Kimchi and Market Tour Class or this Kimchi and Korean Food Class instead (You are taught to cook Korean dishes as well as make kimchi.)

If you want the experience of shopping for your own ingredients in a Korean market, try this kimchi class by an English-speaking teacher instead. (You make 4 types of kimchi: 2 types of Cabbage Baechu Kimchi (fermented (Gimjang Kimchi ) and fresh (Geotjeori )., Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Sobagi ), and Radish Kimchi (Kkakdugi ).) At. the end, you'll enjoy Boiled Pork or Fried Tofu with the kimchi. I like that this class actually gives you a workbook, unlike the Kimchi Academy class.

Any questions about Kimchi Classes in Seoul? Let me know in the comments! Or ask in my Korea travel Facebook group where I give out free stickers to the most active participants 🙂