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According to the Korea Consumer Agency’s price information portal, the cost of dining out has increased by more than 40% over the past five years.
In Busan, the average price of eight popular food items rose by 27%, approaching the average price increase in Seoul, which was 28.4%.
The most significant price increase in the Busan area was observed in gimbap, which soared by 40% from May 2018 to last month. Bibimbap and jjajangmyeon followed with increases of 29.2% and 28.8% respectively.
Other dishes such as naengmyeon, pork belly, and kimchi stew also experienced price hikes of over 25% during the same period.
In Seoul, the average price of the eight food items increased by 28.4%, with gimbap, jjajangmyeon, kalguksu, and kimchi stew seeing notable increases.
These rising food prices are expected to continue due to factors like increasing electricity and labor costs, as well as unstable grain prices caused by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The restaurant price index has been steadily rising for 30 consecutive months, reaching 117.43 in May, representing a 6.9% increase compared to the previous year.
