Rice and Egg Prices Soar... "Kimbap Roll Nears 4,000 Won"

Price Information Portal Chamgaggyeok, Korea Consumer Agency

Average Price of a Single Kimbap Roll in Seoul: 3,838 Won

Up 5.9% from a Year Ago... Fastest Growth Rate Among All Items

The price of kimbap, long considered a "value-for-money" menu item, is rising at the fastest rate among major dining-out items.

According to Price Information Portal Chamgaggyeok by the Korea Consumer Agency on August 17, the average price of a single roll of kimbap in Seoul as of June was 3,838 won. This represents a 5.9% increase from one year earlier. This price hike has been attributed to the surge in the cost of key ingredients such as rice, eggs, and dried seaweed (gim).

As the prices of dining-out menus steadily rise, the average price of one gimbap roll in the Seoul area was found to be 3,838 won. The photo shows a snack bar in a commercial district in downtown Seoul. Photo by [Photographer's Name]

Kimbap's price increase rate was the highest among the other surveyed items, with pork belly (samgyeopsal) up 4.3%, knife-cut noodles (kalguksu) up 3.6%, cold noodles (naengmyeon) up 2.8%, ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang) up 2.8%, bibimbap up 2.7%, black bean noodles (jajangmyeon) up 2.1%, and kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) up 1.8%. The Korea Consumer Agency has been tracking price trends for eight key dining-out items that are popularly consumed, and among these, kimbap demonstrated the fastest price hike.

In Seoul, the average price of a single roll of kimbap rose from 3,723 won last December to 3,800 won in January, then increased again to 3,838 won in June after five months. The main reason for this price rise has been cited as the increase in prices of core ingredients, such as rice, eggs, and dried seaweed, which have driven up the cost and ultimately led to higher menu prices.

Data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics show that in the second quarter, the price of rice rose 13.2% compared to the previous year. Eggs increased by 9.0% and dried seaweed by 2.5% during the same period.

With the rising prices of agricultural and livestock products, the upward trend in kimbap prices is accelerating. The rate of increase for kimbap prices climbed from 4.2% in June to 4.5% in July.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.