The People Behind
KimchiGuide

Ji-Young grew up in a household in Busan where kimchi was made twice yearly in large batches. Trained from age 8 by her grandmother, she spent 15 years developing hands-on expertise before founding KimchiGuide — the internet’s only website dedicated entirely to kimchi. Her move to London in 2012 forced her to understand kimchi at an ingredient level she never needed in Korea, and that depth of understanding is the foundation of everything on this site.

Dr. Sarah Mitchell holds a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from UC Davis, where her doctoral research focused on Lactobacillus bioactive compounds in fermented vegetables — including kimchi. After completing her Registered Dietitian credentials, she spent six years as a clinical dietitian in Stanford Medical Center’s gastroenterology unit, where patients regularly asked about fermented foods and kimchi. That clinical experience, combined with her research background, is what makes her health writing on KimchiGuide both scientifically rigorous and practically useful.

Dr. James Cho is a board-certified gastroenterologist and Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology, practising at UCSF Medical Center. He trained at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and completed his gastroenterology fellowship at UCSF. His clinical practice focuses on inflammatory bowel disease and gut microbiome interventions — making him precisely qualified to review health claims about kimchi, probiotics, and fermented foods. He reviews every health article on KimchiGuide before publication, checking cited sources, flagging overclaimed science, and adding clinical context from 15 years of patient care.