S. Korea floods put kimchi in question

A series of typhoons in South Korea this summer has left the country blindsided by a kimchi catastrophe.

Fields of cabbages — which are usually seasoned with spices at this time of year and left to ferment for months to make South Korea’s favorite pungent dish — were wiped out across the country by the extreme weather, causing prices to surge more than 60%.

“Cabbage prices are going nuts,” said Jung Mi-ae, a mother of two who usually loads up on the vegetable in the fall to make her own kimchi. “I had to rub my eyes to see the price tag again because it didn’t make any sense.”

In a normal year, South Korean households buy cabbages and other vegetables in bulk to make kimchi for the next year, a season called “gimjang” and a tradition passed down through the generations for more than a century.

But this year, three big typhoons and the longest rainy season on record caused flooding in August and September, damaging crops and disrupting supplies. The nation’s fresh food prices climbed 22% last month to the highest since early 2011, statistics show.

Daesang Corp., South Korea’s top kimchi producer, said it has temporarily suspended online sales because of the cabbage shortfall. And CJ CheilJedang Corp., another major food company, said it’s looking for alternative supplies to meet demand that’s especially high this year as more people eat at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Cabbage in particular is quite sensitive to climate change, and any sort of extreme weather will be detrimental to its output,” said Kim Dajung, a research fellow at the Korea Rural Economic Institute.