South Korea faces kimchi shortage as cabbage prices soar

SEOUL — The price of Chinese cabbage, a key ingredient in perhaps Korea's most popular dish kimchi, has risen 2.6 times its normal price in South Korea due to plant diseases brought on by abnormal weather conditions.

Prolonged heatwaves have swept the country this summer, with South Korea's Meteorological Administration announcing in September that the number of days with both the average temperature and the sensor temperature above 35C was the highest since records began in 1973. Both consumers and producers are increasingly concerned.