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1
Cut the peeled Korean radish into matchstick strips of 4–5 cm in length and 3 mm in cross-section, so strips cut thinner than 3 mm will collapse under the dressing while strips cut thicker will not absorb it. Work steadily across the radish, keeping the knife angle consistent, so that all pieces are uniform and hold their own shape on the board. The cut is correct when a handful of strips lies flat and parallel without curling or splaying.
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2
Place the julienned radish in a bowl, add the pinch of fine salt, and toss to coat, so the salt draws moisture evenly from within each strip rather than sitting on the surface alone. Rest for 5 minutes, then gather the radish and squeeze gently with the hand — not forcefully enough to break the strips, but firmly enough to express the pooled liquid. The radish is ready when it feels faintly damp rather than wet, and the strips still hold their rigidity.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies: combine the rice vinegar, sugar, gochugaru, sesame oil, and minced garlic into a dressing and add it to the squeezed radish, tossing thoroughly so every strip is coated before the balance is judged. Taste a single dressed strip immediately — the flavour should arrive in sequence, gochugaru heat first, then rice vinegar acidity, then the natural sweetness of the radish underneath. Adjust vinegar or sugar by small increments until that sequence is unambiguous, because a dressing that arrives flat or all at once has not been balanced.
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4
Serve within 30 minutes of dressing, so the strips retain the snap that was preserved through the salt-squeeze stage rather than softening further in the acid. The quality test is applied at the table: a properly dressed strip should snap cleanly when bitten and release a small burst of radish juice. A strip that bends indicates insufficient liquid was removed during squeezing; a strip that resists the bite altogether indicates radish past its seasonal peak.