Confession time...

During my time here, there are many things I've had to keep quiet about.  You know what they say, "when in Rome..."  Maybe they are a little less liberal here, maybe some things just aren't spoken about...  Sometimes I can't help but think things like, "we don't do that in Canada... how strange."  But most of the time, you accept things because that's the way they are done here, and after all, I am a guest, and I want to learn how Korea does it.

However, I can't keep silent on this issue anymore.  It threatens to come bubbling to the surface, and I feel like I can't be myself.  So, revealed here for all the world to see is my shameful secret, something I've only told a few, very close friends:

I don't like kimchi.

Korean kimchi

I know, I know!  It's shocking!  I can hear Koreans and fellow ex-pats alike, crying "how could you!"  "I thought I knew you!" and even "That's unnatural!"  I know, and I'm so very sorry.  I tried.  Oh, how I tried to like it!  Every day at the school lunch, I would take three or four pieces, slowly eat them, and try my hardest to hide my grimace as they went down.  However, last week, the kimchi tasted... different.  Almost as though it had gone bad.  (Of course, this is a very relative term, as kimchi is made of fermented cabbage.  Can fermented cabbage "go bad"?)  Since that one experience, I haven't been able to eat kimchi.  I do my best to hide the fact that there is no kimchi on my tray during the lunch break, but it's only a matter of time before it's noticed and commented on...

Radish kimchi

There is another variety of kimchi made of radish that is occasionally on the menu.  It is still not one of my favorite foods, but I can eat it.

The Koreans in my reading audience will tell you that it's very healthy, and that eating kimchi actually burns fat.  I know that can't be true, however, it is high in fiber and low in calories.  It is, in many ways, a good food, just one that I find myself unable to stomach any longer.  Besides, one study links kimchi to higher risks of developing gastric cancer.  So, you know, there's that.

There are many aspects of Korean culture and food that I am wholeheartedly embracing.  It just so happens that one of the most visible parts of that culture turns my stomach... to my Korean friends, and other kimchi sympathizers, I'm so sorry.  However, it leaves more for the rest of you!

Officially swearing off kimchi for the time being,
Dan.