People pass by a Burger King store in Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

Office worker A (34), who lives in Seoul, has mostly bought lunch at hamburger franchises. That is because ordinary restaurants had few menu items under 10,000 won.

But even the hamburger set menu that A favored was in the 9,000 won range last year, and this year it jumped into the 10,000 won range. A said, "Government statistics say prices rose in the 2% range, but the prices we actually feel seem to be rising much more."

According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) on the 31st, this year's consumer price index was 116.61 (2020=100), up only 2.1% from last year's 114.18. That is the lowest increase in the past five years. From 2021 to last year, the consumer price index had risen at least 2.3% and as much as 5.1% each year.

However, the cost-of-living index—made up of items consumers buy frequently and called "perceived inflation"—rose 2.4% this year. That was 0.3 percentage points higher than the consumer price index growth rate.

A sign advertising jjajangmyeon is posted in front of a restaurant in Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

Within the cost-of-living index, the increase was higher for items on which individuals spend almost every day. Food prices in particular rose a lot. Jajangmyeon (5.6%) and kimbap (4.2%), lunches often chosen by office workers, jumped to more than double the consumer price index growth rate. Haejangguk (4%), kalguksu (3.8%), and hamburgers (3.8%) also outpaced the consumer price index growth rate.

Prices also rose sharply for bread (5.8%), ham and bacon (5.7%), frozen foods (5.5%), and ramyeon (5%) purchased for meals at home. The same was true for snacks such as biscuits (7%) and carbonated beverages (4.8%).

Transportation costs showed a similar pattern. Subway fares (3.9%) rose to nearly double the consumer price index growth rate. Other living expenses also climbed, as maintenance fees for apartment complexes (4.1%) and insurance service fees (16%) increased one after another.

An official at the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) said, "Consumer prices are the average of 450 items, so the official prices (announced by the government) can come out lower than perceived inflation."

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