Kalguksu Tops Rising Restaurant Prices in Seoul; Samgyetang Follows
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Seoul dining prices rose overall by 3.44% compared with last December, according to South Korea’s Consumer Agency portal. Kalguksu (hand-cut wheat noodle soup) saw the largest increase, up 4.91 to 9,846 won on average, and has risen about 50% since 2015. Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) increased 4.23 to around 18,000 won. Other popular items also climbed: gimbap 4.17 (3,500→3,646 won), kimchi-jjigae set 3.72 (8,269→8,577 won), naengmyeon 3.53, bibimbap 3.44, and jajangmyeon 3.11. Pork belly (200g) rose 1.93 to just over 20,000 won. Analysts attribute the rises to higher flour and ingredient prices, energy and rent costs, exchange rates, and notably higher labor costs for labor-intensive dishes like kalguksu and samgyetang. Personal service fees in Seoul (dry cleaning, haircuts, lodging, baths) also increased.
