In this study, thirty-eight lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were isolated from Kimchi (Korean traditional fermented food) and screened for probiotic characterization in a series of in vitro tests, including resistance to low pH, tolerance to bile salts, hydrophobicity, antibiotic resistance and antioxidant activity. Firstly, twenty-two strains displayed survival in acid and bile passage conditions. Secondly, the strains KCCP 11349 and KCCP 11356 were observed to have high cell surface hydrophobicity with 63.9 and 98.8 %, respectively. Functionality of these potential probiotic isolates was supported by their antioxidant activity. Altogether, the strain KCCP 11349 showed characteristics similar to or even better than reference strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. Finally, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was conducted to identify potential probiotic strains and KCCP 11349 was identified as Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum.