Kimchi Crisis Prompts Governmental Intervention in S. Korea
Created: Oct 15, 2010Last Updated: Oct 16, 2010
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Kimchi prices in South Korea have skyrocketed recently, prompted the South Korean president to take action. Above, South Korean women make kimchi in November 2009. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
President Lee Myung-bak issued an order this week to keep the price of napa cabbage and other vegetables from rising above international levels.
"There is no reason for people on low incomes to purchase items that are necessary to daily life at higher prices than international prices," President Lee said in a Cabinet meeting, according to his spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung, Yonhap reported.
The price of cabbage started to increase sharply in the spring because of a weak harvest due to an unseasonably cold winter, the UK’s Daily Telegraph noted. A rainy summer only made things worse for cabbage growers.
Domestically-grown cabbages sold for around $2.50 a head last year, but now sell for around $14 each, the New York Times said.
South Koreans eat more than 2.2 million tons worth of the fermented cabbage dish, which is spiced with peppers, garlic, and other food items. Kimchi is eaten with almost every meal in Korea.
National newspapers have called the cabbage and kimchi situation a “national tragedy” and a “once-in-a-century crisis,” The Telegraph noted.
There have also been reports of gangs and ruffians trying to steal cabbages—and entire crops—from isolated farms.
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