Gimbap, kimchi-jjigae prices go up, as cost of eating out keeps rising

State-run agency data showed Thursday that the average price for gimbap and kimchi-jjigae, two of the most popular eating-out options in South Korea, rose in November to 3,292 won ($2.50) and 7,923 won, respectively.

The price for a roll of gimbap has been moving upward since breaking the 3,000-won mark for the first time in August of 2022, according to the Korea Consumer Agency, an affiliate of the Korea Fair Trade Commission. Price for a bowl of kimchi-jjigae -- conventionally served with a bowl of steamed rice -- had been relatively in control, remaining at 7,847 won for five months since May, but rose again last month.

The agency provides the most recent information on price around various fields such as eating out, daily necessities, agricultural products, and public services on its T-Price webpage (https://www.price.go.kr).

Its November data showed that prices for other popular dishes in the country remained unchanged for this month -- the KCA provides information for the eight most sought-out dishes here: jajangmyeon, kalguksu, naengmyeon, samgyeopsal, samgyetaeng and bibimbap. Many of those dishes are also popular internationally, with Google recently announcing that the recipe for bibimbap was the most-searched one on its search engine this year.

But the cost of dining out has been consistently going up faster than the overall inflation rate for consumer goods for the last 30 months. The general inflation rate for consumer goods for November was 3.3 percent, but the inflation rate for outdoor dining was 4.8 percent.

As such, there are only a handful of dining options available for under 10,000 won in South Korea: out of the eight most popular eating options selected by the KCA, only gimbap, jajangmyeon, kalguksu and kimchi-jjigae can be bought for under 10,000 on average.