Green onions have become a political symbol in South Korea (Picture: Yonhap/AFP)
South Korea’s president has an unusual problem: he’s being haunted by a vegetable.
Disgruntled voters have taken to wearing green onion headbands and waving the vegetable at protests after President Yoon Suk Yeol made a comment about food prices at a supermarket.
The problem has gotten so bad that South Korea’s National Election Commission has banned green onions at polling stations.
Here’s how an unassuming vegetable became a viral political meme in South Korea.
What did South Korea’s president say about green onions?
63-year-old Yoon, who is the leader of the conservative People Power party, paid a visit to a supermarket in Seoul in March.
He picked up a bunch of green onions on sale for 875 won (51p), which he described as a fair price.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, centre, said that he’d been to lots of supermarkets (Picture: AP)
‘I’ve been to lots of markets, and I would say 875 won is a reasonable price,’ he said, as reported by ABC News.
However, shoppers said the green onions were only available at such a low cost because of a temporary government subsidy.
Usually, green onions cost between 3,000 and 4,000 won – roughly between £1.74 and £2.33 – which is the highest level in recent years.
Protestors are angry about rising food costs (Picture: Lee Jae-Won/AFLO/Shutterstock)
South Koreans have accused Yoon of being out of touch and oblivious to the country’s cost of living crisis.
Outrage surrounding his comments comes at a particularly pressing time, as voters will head to polling stations on Wednesday to vote in national assembly elections.
The 300-seat national assembly is currently controlled by Yoon’s opposition, the Democratic party.
How green onions became a meme
As South Korea’s election day draws closer, memes about green onions have gone viral on social media.
Chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party Lee Jae-myung, left, holds a helmet decorated with green onions while out campaigning (Picture: EPA)
Opposition candidates have mocked Yoon by waving green onions in the air during speeches, while voters have made hats and headbands adorned with the vegetable.
Some have placed green onions outside polling stations, leading the National Election Commission to ban green onions at the locations over ‘electoral interference’ concerns.
‘I wasn’t initially thinking about the green onion issue, but after I heard about the ban, I bought a green onion hairband and I’m determined to wear it on election day,’ one 36-year-old voter named Hyun Jung told AFP.
Voters have shared their plans to subvert the ban, such as carrying green onion keychains and carrying transparent bags containing the vegetable.
Why South Korea’s cost of living crisis matters
One of the reasons some South Korean voters are so angry at Yoon’s comment is because the country is in the grip of a cost of living crisis.
Food prices in South Korea increased by 5% last year, and the price of agricultural products in March were 20% higher than March 2023.
The cost of many products have soared. The price of apples, for instance, has risen by nearly 90% in a year.
Protesters hold up green onions and signs reading ‘the president’s monthly salary of 875 won is appropriate!’, referencing his comment that 875 won was a ‘reasonable’ price for green onions (Picture: Yonhap/AFP)
South Korea is highly dependent on its domestic agriculture industry.
Unlike other countries, who get a lot of their food from abroad, South Korea has strict regulations that make importing foods like apples almost impossible.
For example, eleven countries have tried to export apples to South Korea, and none have been successful.
The issue will be at the front of voters’ minds as they cast their votes on Wednesday.
The Democratic party has a slight lead over People Power, with 37% of the vote compared to 35%, according to polling by Gallup.
Meanwhile, the brand new Rebuilding Korea party, led by former justice minister Cho Kuk, is gaining popularity.
When is South Korea’s election?
South Korea’s legislative elections will take place on Wednesday 10 April.
Voters will choose representatives for the National Assembly, which is South Korea’s equivalent of parliament.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, who came into power two years ago, is hoping that his party, People Power, can regain control of the Assembly.
The opposition Democratic Party current hold the majority, with 142 seats.
Early voting started last week. 13.8 million out of South Korea’s 44.2 million voters have already cast their votes.
Food revolutions
This isn’t the first time that food has become a symbol of political protest.
In Berlin in 1847, failed harvests triggered the ‘potato revolution’.
Crowds attacked potato sellers and stormed bakeries and butchers.
In the 1863 ‘bread riots’ in the US, working-class mothers in Richmond, Virginia, were angry about rising food prices.
An illustration depicting the 1863 bread riots (Picture: Getty Images)
Many had lost their husbands in the Civil War and were struggling to feed their families.
When the government ignored their pleas for help, the women took to the streets and chanted ‘bread or blood!’.
They raided businesses and looted food.
In 2007, demonstrators in Mexico waved ears of corn to protest against rising price of tortillas, a staple of the Mexican diet that is often made with corn.
Some protestors even dressed up as tortillas and others shouted ‘without corn, there is no country’.