What make the dish-slash-condiments so potent are the dried red chili peppers which form a near lethal combination during pickling process with the piquant cabbage.

C’mon, kimchi jjigae isn’t even the spiciest food in Korea, let alone among the world’s spiciest!   안동찜닭, 닭도리탕, 오징어볶음,  heck, even the 효자동 떡볶이 we just reviewed are miles spicier than most kimchi jjigae!  What about the 불닭 craze of a few years ago, when restaurants popped up catering purely to the need for Koreans to find a new level of masochistic tastebud burn?  What of the smoldering pleasure of having your mouth scoured by a good bowl of 비빔냉면? Sure,  kimchi is spicy . . . if you have the refined palate of somebody whose mouth has never encountered anything worse than a little smidge of wasabi on your gigantic riceball of sushi.

What’s the matter, FT, can’t take the heat?  When you’re ready to restore some semblence of journalistic credibility, call us.  We’ll show you foods that are spicy enough to write home (or for the Forbes Traveler) about.

tip of the fat hat to Brian in Jeollanam-do