To outsiders it is just another vegetable. To South Koreans, the long-leafed cabbage is part of the national identity as the most common staple ingredient of kimchi, the spicy pickled vegetable dish that accompanies every meal. But a frosty spring and hot summer followed by autumn floods ruined this year's crop and caused prices to rise between three- and fivefold – though some whisper darkly that hoarders have contributed to the problem.