Koreans in kimchi crunch

Soaring cabbage prices are deepening concerns among households ahead of the upcoming kimchi-making season and putting the essential side dish off tables in many restaurants. 

After two months of unusually heavy rain caused an unprecedented shortage of fresh vegetables, the price of napa cabbage hovers around 10 thousand won ($9) per head, nearing a four-fold increase from mid-August. 

Other essential ingredients of Korea’s staple food are caught in the inflationaryspiral including radish and garlic, both of which have doubled in value over the past year. 

Kimchi makers have already increased the prices of their products. Some restaurants have started charging for kimchi, a side dish served with almost every Korean meal for free all year around. Facing the end of fall when families make kimchi for the winter, or “kimjang” season, the vegetable crunch is expected to hit the nation right in the money belt.

“I’m not sure if I should start to charge kimchi or exclude it from the side dishes. I have never experienced such shortage (of cabbage) in my ten years as a chef running this restaurant,” a owner of a Korean restaurant in Gwacheon said.