Black, crispy, often flat and square - dried seaweed, known locally as gim - is a humble staple on everyday dining tables across South Korea. But as its global popularity grows, its rising prices are worrying gim-lovers nationwide.
Lee Hyang-ran has been selling gim for the past 47 years.
"In the past, people from Western countries thought Koreans were eating something weird that looks like a piece of black paper," the vendor, who is in her 60s, says from a small market stall in central Seoul.
"I never thought I'd be selling gim to them. But now, they all come here and buy it."
South Korea is known to be the world's largest producer and exporter of gim, supplying markets across Asia, North America and Europe. Some even refer to the product as Korea's "black semiconductor", a reference to South Korea's large share of the global semiconductor industry.
