Being a member of the inner city and not of the sky scraping suburbs, I have not personally seen much effect of the recent outrageous prices of kimchi, the most integral food to every meal of Korean cuisine. The long story short is that something to do with the weather this year has left a shortage of radish, garlic, and (most severely) cabbage in Korea. This has led the prices to soar and, despite government subsidies, the production of the dish this harvest season to decrease. Being that it's a fermented food and usually takes months if not years to make properly, I hadn't predicted much effect on the consumer side of the market for at least half a year. However, last week I was refused kimchi for the first time in a restaurant, with "high prices of cabbage" cited as the excuse. Jaw-dropping. I had hoped to take part in some kimchi making this year. We'll see if the festival still takes place.
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