Memory of Banana In 1970s and 1980s when I was a kid, bananas were very expensive in Korea. At the time, Korea was one of the poor countries. There was no such thing like free-trade agreement among countries as far as I know. Bananas in Korea were all imported goods. I remember it cost one dollar to buy one banana. Those days, a bowl of noodle costed 50 cents or so (500 Korean Won) I had seldom eaten banana as a kid. Taking a bite of banana was as costly as having lunch outside. Sometimes bananas remind me of how I used them to make fun of my brother. When my mom had me call my brother playing outside with his friends, I would tell him that mom brought bananas from market. Then my brother ran home as fast as flash to take a bite of banana and finally burst into his temper to find I told a lie. It was 35 years ago. These days almost no one cherishes bananas. But I do because it is part of my childhood memory.