Timothy
Head Chef
My local Korean market has a deli and I'm pretty sure some of the kimchee in the kimchee section is as you described, and also pretty sure I've tried at least some of these. I usually go a year or two between kimchee attempts and currently it's not time yet for another attempt.
It's a lucky thing there's so many Koreans (and other Asians) in Los Angeles. I'd never have this kind of access to Asian food in much of America. The large presence of Asians is certainly a factor in my liking Asian cuisine and liking to cook my own Asian dishes. (Gotta admit that Thai is my favorite!)
Kimchee is eaten as a condiment. Much like you would use pickle relish. Eating it straight up like a salad is overpowering to most folks. A tiny bit of kimchee on a bite of pork or beef is very good.
I love to put a tad of kimchee on an oyster on the half shell. OMG, it makes my mouth water just typing that. Ha!