More places in Seoul are raising the price of a bowl of steamed rice to 2,000 won. Some restaurants charge as much as 3,000 won, and the price of a bowl of rice that was just 1,000 won a few months ago has jumped two to three times. With rice prices surging and small business owners facing higher labor costs, dining-out prices are rising across the board.
According to Statistics Korea on the 17th, as of 5th, the producer price of rice was 55,810 won per 20 kilograms, up 1,180 won (2.16%) from the previous survey date on 25th of the last month. As of 5th, the retail price for 20 kilograms of rice topped 61,000 won, up more than 20% from the same period a year earlier. In some markets, depending on the variety, transaction occurs in the 70,000–90,000 won range per 20 kilograms. This year, frequent rains delayed harvests of early-maturing varieties and quick depletion of old-crop (last year's rice) inventories fueled the price increase, analysts said.
Restaurants are clearly moving to raise prices as well. Recently, a barbecue restaurant in Jongno, Seoul, raised the price of a bowl of rice from 1,000 won to 1,500 won. On delivery apps, you can also find places where a bowl of rice costs 1,500 won or 2,000 won. A restaurant in Mapo District highlights pot-cooked rice and charges 3,000 won. Some businesses are removing a bowl of rice from the menu altogether and replacing it with rice balls or fried rice, deciding it is better to charge a higher price.
Self-employed business owners say raising the price of a bowl of rice is inevitable. Not only rice prices but also labor, rent, and utility bills such as electricity and gas are rising in succession, increasing expense pressures. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' "2024 Restaurant Management Survey," last year's restaurant sales were most heavily weighted by ingredient costs (40.4%) and labor costs (29.4%). A similar trend was confirmed in the "2025 Survey on Closed Small Business Owners" released by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (K-Biz). As reasons for closure, 86.7% of respondents cited "deteriorating profitability," and nearly half of them, 49.4%, pointed to "rising labor costs" as the direct cause.
On top of that, tax burdens will also increase starting next year. Restaurants buy tax-exempt materials and supplies such as rice and vegetables for cooking, but sales are taxable items, so the government operates a system called the "deemed input tax credit." Until the end of this year, it reduced value-added tax burdens by recognizing 70% of materials and supplies expenses as tax paid, but starting next year, as the credit rate falls to 50%, owners' effective tax burdens will grow.
Still, the sentiment on the ground is that consumer resistance cannot be ignored. In Korean dining culture, just as side dish refills are free, the perception remains strong that 1,000 won is the natural price for a bowl of rice. In fact, despite higher costs, many restaurants still stick to 1,000 won. Kim Young-hak, 53, who runs a pork back-bone soup restaurant in Seongdong District, Seoul, said, "I know rice prices are rising, but it's hard to break the 1,000-won level for a bowl of rice," adding, "I also have to be mindful of regulars. Raising the price of a bowl of rice is a last resort."
The government has also moved to stabilize rice prices. Following a supply of 30,000 tons at the end of the last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs decided to supply an additional 25,000 tons of government rice this month to producer-area distributors. But industry officials say, "It is difficult to offset labor and tax burdens with a short-term supply increase alone, so it will be hard to curb the rising trend in rice prices."
A restaurant industry official said, "When rice prices go up, it inevitably gets reflected in the price of a bowl of rice," adding, "With labor and taxes rising alongside rice, 2,000 won for a bowl of rice has already entered the mainstream, and next year many will charge in the 3,000-won range."