South Korea Food Report 2:The Rising Cost of Kimchi

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In November 2011, food prices rose 4.2% from the previous month and 20% on the year. Although this year the price of kimchi did remain stable at around ($3 a head) and did not jump up to $10-$18 dollars a head like last year. The costs of other ingredients such as garlic, chili powder, ginger, and onions have risen.

To make one head of cabbage kimchi would cost: 15,236 won for material costs without the labor costs of making it. For the average 50 heads that an average family usually makes at kimchi making season it would cost it 761,800 won.

The most surprising increase in the cost of kimchi is the rising cost of red pepper flakes. If you look at the advertisement below from E-mart (one of the top grocery store brands in Korea), the cost for Korean chili flakes for 200 grams is 10,700 won- which would only be enough to make 1 head of kimchi. There is bargain brand of spicy chili flake which costs 14,980 won for 1 kilograms but the chili is from China. Koreans tend not to use Chinese Chili Flakes for kimchi because they believe it is inferior and unhealthy due to their stereotypes about the environment it is grown.

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About the Author

Daniel

Daniel Gray is a Korean adoptee that returned to Korean in 2005 because he wanted to try and find his birth mother and to learn about Korean culture. He started a restaurant review blog in 2007, www.seouleats.com, that became a local and international hit. He and his blog has been featured in the New York Times, Monocle Magazine, The Kimchi Chronicles, Bizarre Foods, Rudy Maxa, Olive Magazine, Euronews and much more. He now is a partner at O’ngo Food Communications (www.ongofood.com), which is a culinary tourism and consulting company that offers Korean cooking classes and restaurant tours to travelers. Their food tours and cooking classes are ranked as one of the top attractions in Seoul according to tripadvisor.