Kimchi shortage a national crisis in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — Freakish fall weather has resulted in a national kimchi crisis, causing South Korean consumers to clutch their purses, hearts and stomachs as they seek to deal with a shortage of the oblong-shaped cabbage used to make the ubiquitous spicy dish.

With heavy September rains ruining much of the Napa, or Chinese, cabbage crop, prices have jumped fourfold to more than $10 a head.

In response, the federal government last week announced a temporary reduction in tariffs on Chinese-imported cabbage and radishes in a plan to rush an additional 100 tons of the staples into stores this month.

And Monday, the Seoul city government began a kimchi bailout program, in which it is absorbing 30 percent of the cost of about 300,000 heads of cabbage that it has purchased from rural farmers.

Depriving Koreans of their kimchi, many say, is like forcing Italians to forgo pasta or taking all the tea from China. It is served with virtually every meal, and the shortage has raised tempers and led to intemperate political statements. When President Lee Myung-bak announced he would eat only kimchi made from what he said was cheaper round cabbage common in Europe and North America, many people erupted in anger.

The round cabbage, Internet users pointed out, was only slightly cheaper here than the Chinese variety, suggesting the president's claim was out of touch with the needs and concerns of the working class.

"For the president to say something like that is like Marie Antoinette saying, 'Let them eat cake!' " one blogger groused.

The shortages have come at the onset of gimjang season, when families lovingly hand-prepare the kimchi they will consume during the winter and spring. Many prefer kimchi that has fermented for months or even years in earthenware pots.

In a play on words, people now refer to kimchi as gold, noting the similarity of the two words in Korean. In restaurants, where customers wrap beef and pork in a slice of cabbage, they joke that the custom should be reversed, because the cabbage is now more costly than many meats.

Many stores have posted "out of stock" signs in the Chinese cabbage bins. Many of the cabbages that are still available are anemic. Kimchi home-delivery companies also have suspended services.

The jump in prices is part of an unsettling consumer trend, analysts say. Rising farm expenses have brought the largest one-year jump in fresh produce costs in two decades. The prices of lettuce, pumpkins and radishes have all risen more than 200 percent since this time last year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

As well, emergency imports from China have set off a fear among some consumers who point to a crisis in 2005 in which imported Chinese-made kimchi products were contaminated by parasite eggs.

In recent days a black-market cabbage trade has sprouted. Police say many residents are hoarding the vegetables for resale. Four men were recently caught stealing more than 400 heads of Chinese cabbage.

Restaurants that traditionally provide kimchi for free are now charging for refills. Company and school cafeterias are serving kimchi made with less-preferred radishes.

Many Seoul consumers are now driving into the countryside on weekends in an attempt to buy directly from farmers.

"I've had more than 20 customers from Seoul over the weekend," said Ban Sang-hyuk, a 58-year-old cabbage farmer just outside the capital.

Farmers such as Ban say whether or not they have a good harvest or not, they sell their cabbage for no more than $3 a head.

Such prices are music to the ears of kimchi consumers such as Jin Hye-ryun. The 51-year-old Seoul housewife doesn't like the thought of substituting lesser ingredients for Korea's national dish. But she'll do what she has to do.

"We can't stand life without kimchi even for one day," she said.