In The News...

Two Korea-centric stories that are making headlines right now. First of all, and most importantly, there's a kimchi krisis, y'all!!!!

http://www.theyeogiyo.com/News/Articles/2010-2/10/01/Kimchi-Crisis.php

Lee Seong-ryuh, a 63-year-old grandmother, has made her family’s kimchi for decades - until, that is, she stopped doing so a few days ago.

“I was waiting for the outrageous price of cabbage to fall, but it kept rising instead,” she said. “I had no choice but to buy prepackaged kimchi, which is a far better bargain right now.”

Nooooooo! It's fall, which means it's time for the ajummas of Korea to start making their batches of kimchi for the winter. Most Koreans I've talked to say that their mom makes the best kimchi, so a hike in cabbage prices could be disastrous for many. The article goes on to say:

Retailers have had no choice but to hike prices. At Shinsegae E-Mart, a head of cabbage sold for 11,500 won on Sept. 29, but the day before the same head would have set you back 6,450 won.

That's a steep hike! $10 for a head of cabbage? That's just price gouging. The article blames the poor crop of cabbage on the tropical storm we had last month, but c'mon, it wasn't that bad. To me this sounds like how every summer in Canada gasoline reaches its highest price of the year, conveniently when most people are filling up their tanks around vacation time. There's always a different excuse for the price hike every year, but it still happens. These ajummas need their cabbage and someone is taking advantage of that, but most alarming is this report:

Company cafeterias have cut down on the amount they offer employees, some restaurants are charging for kimchi refills, and moms and grandmas do not know what they’ll do in November and December, the traditional season for making homemade kimchi.

What?! Even at the crappiest Korean restaurant, even if no other side dishes are provided, you'll always get a bottomless serving of kimchi with your meal. It just wouldn't be Korea anymore if restaurants stopped giving out plates full of fermented, spicy cabbage. This would certainly not be the kind of Korea I'd want to live in. Speaking of the kind of Korea I don't want to live in, here is a story from reliable newshound, Perez Hilton:

http://perezhilton.com/2010-10-02-korean_mothers_form_union_to_protest_gay_storyline_on_tv_drama_life_is_beautiful

A group of mothers in Korea have become so upset about the portrayal of a gay couple on a popular drama, called Life Is Beautiful, that they have formed a union and released an open letter in protest of the series in yesterday's issue of the Chosun Journal!

It reads:

“If my son becomes gay and dies from AIDs after watching ‘Life Is Beautiful’, SBS must take responsibility! ‘Life Is Beautiful’ has glamorized the culture of gays against what is realistically, healthy and proper for the citizens of Korea.”

Sadly, the fact that a group of ajummas have their perms in a knot about this doesn't surprise me at all. There are a lot of good things about Korea, but the level of tolerance for different kinds of people isn't one of them. It's one of those things you kind of have to ignore if you want to enjoy your time here. I hope ‘Life Is Beautiful’ goes gayer than gay and hypnotizes the nation into a bunch of glittery queens. And I hope this kimchi business gets figured out too. If only the news at home could be this interesting.