Koreans head to space with fanfare and food

After months of screening over 36,000 candidates, South Korea unveiled the two finalists live on TV in December. The event looks like an award show with two "winners"--very different from the NASA press conferences announcing new astronaut candidates. JoongAng Daily compared it to "a hybrid season of American Idol and Survivor." Ko San, 30, a researcher at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, and Yi So-yeon, 28, who is working on a Ph.D. at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), will both train at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

After 14 months of training, one will blast off into space on a taxi trip to the ISS--the same kind taken by private space flight participant Anousheh Ansari in 2006.

Along with their multitudes of science experiments, the cultural pioneers will take along samples of traditional Korean food including the country's world-famous fermented cabbage dish -- kimchi. A scientist at the Korea Food Research Institute says kimchi is a much-needed morale booster for any South Korean space traveler.

I look forward to the increase in the variety and flavor of the food available on orbit! After 6 months in space, a bit of Korean take-out or some Indian food would be out of this world...