South Korea: The Cabbage Crisis

Why did the South Korean government fly in emergency cabbage from China in 2010 — and why was that decision experienced as a national humiliation as much as a practical solution? How did a fermented vegetable become the subject of diplomatic warfare between South Korea, Japan, and China, a million-dollar space programme, and a UN cultural heritage inscription shared by two countries technically still at war? And what does kimjang — the autumn tradition of women gathering to make a year's supply together — reveal about what kimchi actually is, beyond the jar?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of South Korea and kimchi — the Cabbage Crisis, the kimchi wars, and the earthenware pot carrying the weight of geopolitics...

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