October 22, 2024 •Anya Wells
Kimchi and the Performing Arts
Before starting her business, Jung-a worked nearly all of last year on developing a multimedia dance theater performance called “Drip Baby Drip.” Drip draws from the children’s book Moon Pops by Heena Baek which retells the old Korean folklore of the rabbits in the moon making rice cakes. With integrating symbolic pieces of Heena’s story, she decides to bring cabbages on stage. Through the process of making Drip, Ariel turns kimchi into a metaphor for her own personal fermentation. Drip continues to be a foundational part of Jung-a’s.
Doing It Alone is Hard
During our interview, Ariel also talked about the struggles of being a “solopreneur”. A solopreneur is someone who does their own marketing, bookkeeping, and all the other things that come along with running a business, a position that many women business owners in Montana are all too familiar with. While starting her business, Ariel has been learning when to outsource tasks that are beyond her ability, and how to find the right person for the job.
A Passion for Cabbage
During our interview, Ariel told me about how she went to the grocery store recently and wanted to look at the cabbage. She didn’t need to buy any, but she said that she likes to visit them when she goes. She noticed that the “butts” of the cabbage were facing out, and because she loves how they look when they flower out she turned them around and took a picture.
To me, this simple story sums up Ariel’s passion for kimchi and cabbage quite elegantly. As a person who doesn’t like cabbage and is not inclined towards it whatsoever, this story made my heart swell with joy. Ariel helped me appreciate cabbage in a way I never thought I would, as a symbol of natural beauty. When we met, she even wore an earring, made by her own hand, of a cabbage leaf. After the interview, I realized that Jung-a's is about more than just selling and making kimchi, it’s about building a community and creating connections when making food together. It’s about Ariel sharing not only her passion for kimchi, but a cultural heritage that spans centuries. “...I'm sharing something that is beyond me, kimchi is a tradition that has been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years, and my ancestors have been making kimchi for a very long time. So that's what I mean by it goes beyond me, that I feel their support.”
You can find Jung-a's Kitchen on Saturday mornings at the Farmer’s Market in Missoula. If you are interested in participating in a workshop or purchasing kimchi online, you can visit
www.jungaskitchen.com.
If you are interested in hearing more or Ariel’s story, you can watch the full video below!
You can follow Ariel on Instagram @jungaskitchen.
Professional photos were taken by Whitney Sarah Photography. You can follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneysarahphotography.
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Interview and Blog by Anya Wells, RMWBC Marketing Assistant and Storytelling Extraordinaire
