For years, Koreans have clung to the notion that kimchi, the pungent fermented
cabbage that is synonymous with their culture, has mystical properties that ward
off disease. But what was once little more than an old wives' tale has become
the subject of serious research, as South Korean scientists put kimchi under
their microscopes.
My mum was married to a man of Japanese descent who was raised in Hawaii. My mother married him after communicating with him as a pen pal for a year or so. She'd never met him face to face but felt she knew him through their correspondence. She sold all her meagre earthly possessions and flew down to Arkansas to marry a man she'd never met - what a leap of faith! He was good to her and cared for her diligently until she succumbed to Alzheimer's. Mr. Nag, my mother's sister and I drove down when we were particularly concerned that my mum was failing. When we arrived, we found a fridge filled with jars of kimchi. My mother was a very finicky eater and would never have eaten kimchi if she were herself. It appeared, however, that this was what she was now eating exclusively. It broke my heart. I guess her husband was trying to ward off the inevitable. It didn't help her.
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