I’m born in Silesia (which is former Germany but now Poland) and for Christmas where is a super delicious desert called Makówka and I was ordering all the things from my grocery list for the traditional Christmas diner and at the end I tried to order the poppy seeds which are the main ingredient of the desert.
And by main ingredient I mean you need like 3 kg of it. In Poland and Germany you just buy it in the supermarket, they sell it in 500g packages. I lived in Sweden and there it was already difficult because they only sold it in 30g packages and it was somehow expensive, so that I always brought some from Germany to have in storage.
Anyway I couldn’t find it at all, and then I asked ChatGTP where I could buy it in Korea and it told me:
In Korean, “mak” (poppy seeds) is referred to as 양귀비 씨앗.
However, it’s important to note that poppy seeds are classified as narcotics in South Korea, and their possession or importation is strictly prohibited.
Attempting to order or bring poppy seeds into the country can lead to serious legal consequences, including fines or imprisonment.
Therefore, it’s advisable to avoid purchasing or attempting to import poppy seeds while in South Korea.
And as the source it linked to a this New York Post article .
God damn it, so no Makówka for me this year …
As a Korean I can 100% confirm
Do not bring poppy seeds into Korea as you’ll be questioned and detained by the cops unfortunately. South Korea has an extremely strict no drugs policy which includes things like poppy seeds, cannabis, shrooms, etc.
What do poppy seeds have to do with drugs? You can make drugs out of them?
I am very confused, living in a country where bags of them are sold in every grocery store, and are a common cooking ingredient. I have never heard of them having anything to do with drugs.
Opiates are derived from poppies
There is a very interesting documentary by VICE about a group of addicts who every year - after the poppy flowers are done flowering but before the harvest - move out of the city Praha in Chechia together to the rural area for a week or two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdYZj9vmfi0
There they cut the plants and collect the opioids and they have a cook who is good at distilling it and then they use it. It’s a big party and later they go back home.