This paper analyzes a case study of the folk classification of Jeollado kimchi, and applies an ethnoscientific model to reveal a system of cultural knowledge corresponding to the classificatory terms. Kimchi is classified by the people of Jeollado using an elaborately developed native terminological system. The research began by collecting 35 kinds of kimchi and eliciting 84 terms including phonetic and/or morphological variants. All 51 categories of kimchi are semantically structured in hierarchical inclusion relation. In other words, the semantic organization is characterized by an elaborate folk taxonomy. Using the method of componential analysis, distinctive semantic components and significations of various kinds of kimchi are found to exist in the Jeollado taxonomy. A second finding of the research is that kimchi is a Korean traditional fermented food closely related to climate and natural environment, and 35 kinds of kimchi are perceived and divided into 4 seasons. Kimchang-kimchi is especially prominent in the seasonal classification of kimchi. Kimchi is also classified into 6 stages according to its degree of fermentation. This fermentation classification is characterized by relationships of stage and process. A third finding of this research is the ethnographic identification of a prototypic category of kimchi. In the native speakers` folk knowledge system, baechu-kimchi seems to regarded as the most prototypic category of Kimchi. A final interesting point of this study is the intra-cultural variation of knowledge about kimchi, varying by gender and age. Cultural knowledge of kimchi is closely associated with women, especially married women, and the older generation has a more elaborate terminological system for kimchi than the younger generation. Hence, the native terminological system of kimchi is changing intra-culturally.