Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

After Nut Rumpus, Macadamia Sales Rocket

The aftermath of a Korean Air executive's rage over how a steward presented macadamia nuts in her airline's first-class cabin has had an immediate side effect: sales of the nuts have risen sharply in South Korea.

From The Wall Street Journal:

"Sales of the nuts from Monday through Tuesday at Gmarket, one of South Korea's top online marketplaces and owned by eBay, are up 149 percent from the same period a week ago, the Edaily business newspaper reported."

It's an unlikely update to a story we reported Tuesday, when Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air Chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho, resigned her post as a vice president at the company her family controls.

Cho had been widely criticized for forcing the plane she was on to return to its gate at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to leave a senior steward behind before leaving for Incheon, South Korea.

The incident has attracted wide attention, as it's being seen as a possible breach of airline rules, as well as an example of both the privilege of Korea's wealthy families – and the resentment it engenders.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.