"Bungeoppang!" I walked over excitedly, then stopped short... What happened to the price tag?

LPG prices up 15% in a year... Rising costs of ingredients and packaging supplies
Bungeoppang at "1,000 won apiece"... Prices of winter snacks climbing across the board

"There Was a Time When You Could Get Three for 1,000 Won"

As the price of bungeoppang, a popular winter snack, has risen, the term "snack for ordinary people" no longer seems apt. Once priced at three for 1,000 won, bungeoppang now costs 2,000 won for three, and in some cases as much as 1,000 won apiece.

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation's (aT) Korea Agricultural Marketing Information Service (KAMIS) on November 6, the average wholesale price that month for domestic red beans (40 kg), a key ingredient in bungeoppang, was 678,000 won. That was 43.6% higher than the average for a typical year, 472,316 won, and nearly twice the price of 364,873 won two years earlier.

Fuel costs have also become a heavier burden. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics' October Consumer Price Trends, the price of LPG for cooking, which is not subject to the price ceiling system, rose 15.2% from a year earlier. The increase was 3.4 percentage points greater than the previous month. The rise in international LPG prices is thought to have added to fuel costs for bungeoppang street vendors.

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Rising ingredient and fuel costs have also been reflected in bungeoppang prices. Last winter, bungeoppang near Sindang Station in Seoul cost 1,000 won for two. This year, it sells for 2,000 won for three. Some street vendors charge 1,000 won apiece, while cafes sell two for 3,000 won.

Other winter snacks are in a similar situation, as many vendors use gas-powered cooking equipment and are therefore affected by rising LPG prices.

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At a hotteok stand in Gwanghwamun, the price has doubled from 1,000 won to 2,000 won apiece. The increase reflects higher prices for imported ingredients such as wheat, sugar, and butter amid the weak won. Recently, international wheat prices were up 41.0% from a year earlier as of September, while raw sugar, the source of sugar, rose 14.2%.

Street vendor price lists show that hotteok, gyeran-ppang, and corn all cost around 3,000 won for two. Roasted sweet potatoes have also become more expensive. According to KAMIS, the wholesale price for top-grade chestnut sweet potatoes (10 kg) was 36,351 won, up 5.4% from the previous month and higher than the typical-year average of 35,231 won.

Prices are rising not only for ingredients and fuel but also for supplies such as bags used to package the products. According to the Bank of Korea's September Producer Price Index, prices for plastic packaging products, including plastic bags, rose 39.2% from the same month a year earlier. Prices for other paper products also increased 5.1% over the same period. Producer prices may differ from the prices vendors actually pay, but because they are reflected in supply prices after a lag, they can ultimately add to vendors' costs.

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