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1
Inspect the jjokpa and reject any with thick, woody stalks (대파, daepa), then trim only the very base of the roots, leaving the bulb, white stalk, and green stalk fully intact — keeping the stalks whole means the paste will later cling in the natural grooves rather than weeping moisture from a cut face. Rinse under cold water and shake dry. Lay in a single layer on a clean surface and leave uncovered for 10 minutes so the surface looks just slightly matt, not dripping wet, because surface water will thin the paste and stop it adhering evenly.
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2
Combine the gochugaru, saeujeot, garlic, and ginger — and the maesil-cheong if using — in a bowl and work together with a spoon until the paste is uniform, thick, and cohesive, so it holds its shape when scooped rather than pooling and settling to the bottom of the fermentation vessel where it would cure the onions unevenly. This is where the dish lives or dies: a paste too loose produces uneven fermentation, a paste too stiff does not coat the stalks.
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3
Working in the bowl, lay 4–5 stalks of jjokpa together and coat them thoroughly with the yangnyeom from root to tip, pressing the paste deliberately into the layers around the white bulb so no bare white or green shows — those uncoated patches will ferment at a different rate and taste raw against the rest. Fold the dressed stalks back on themselves into a compact sheaf and set aside, then repeat with the remaining onions.
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4
Layer the sheaves tightly into a clean, non-reactive container, pressing each bundle snugly against the last so there are no air pockets, because trapped air encourages uneven, off-flavoured fermentation rather than the clean, sour development the dish needs. Arrange the onions so they can be lifted out as intact bundles, seal the container, and leave at room temperature — at this stage the container should smell of raw onion and chilli, sharp, direct, and unfermented.
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5
For young pa kimchi eaten from the same day to three days out, the onions retain raw bite and bright pungency; for fully aged pa kimchi left for several months, fermentation concentrates the flavour dramatically and the stalks soften completely into something deeper and more yielding. To assess readiness at any stage, grip a bundle and apply a gentle squeeze — it should yield without snapping, yet hold its structure well enough to lift cleanly from the container without falling apart.