Cost of eating out soars by 6.6% in April

According to the price information portal of the Korea Consumer Agency on Wednesday, the price of naengmyeon in Seoul last month was 11,192 won, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier (9,308 won) and 2.3 percent from last month. Jajangmyeon was the one with the biggest increase in price among eight dishes people usually go for when dining out. The price of jajangmyeon per serving in Seoul was 6,146 won last month, up 14.1 percent from the same month of last year (5,385 won).

In addition to naengmyeon and jajangmyeon, the prices of the remaining six dishes were also on the rise. The price of kalguksu, which is often considered a “cheap meal,” rose 11 percent (8,269 won) from the same period of last year while those of kimbap (2,908 won) and bibimbap (9,538 won) also rose about eight percent. Kimchi stew (5.7%), samggyeopsal (4.1%), and samgyetang (0.8%) also increased in price. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices rose 4.8 percent last month, the highest since the 2008 financial crisis. Among them, the cost of eating out rose 6.6 percent, the highest since April 1997 (7%).


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