Prices for kimbap and knife-cut noodles, considered representative dining-out options for ordinary people, rose sharply in Seoul over the past year. With a strong dollar, higher raw material costs, and rising labor costs overlapping, lunchflation (lunch + inflation) pressures are mounting.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA)'s price information portal "Champs Price" on the 25th, the average prices of eight representative dining-out items in Seoul last month rose about 3% to 5% from a year earlier. Among them, kimbap climbed from 3,500 won to 3,700 won, up 5.7%, marking the highest increase. Knife-cut noodles rose from 9,385 won to 9,846 won, up 4.9%.
Kimchi-jjigae (Kimchi stew) set meals, regarded as "Koreans' soul food," rose from 8,192 won to 8,577 won, up 4.7%. The average price of samgyetang increased from 17,269 won to 18,000 won, up 4.2%. Some samgyetang specialty restaurants were already found to charge over 20,000 won. In addition, naengmyeon (4.2%), samgyeopsal (3.9%), bibimbap (3.4%), and jjajangmyeon (3.1%) all went up in price.
The rise appears to be driven by a combination of factors, including increases in labor costs, rent, and electricity and gas bills, as well as higher import ingredient prices due to the won-dollar exchange rate climbing.
The restaurant industry says low-priced menus are particularly vulnerable to expense increases because labor makes up a higher share of costs. With the recent rise in the dollar and exchange rate further adding to the burden of imported food material prices, dining-out inflation is unlikely to ease anytime soon.