Eating out is getting pricey, unless you feel like bibimbap

Eating-out expenses and the price of processed foods in Korea have risen significantly over the past year, data showed Wednesday, in an additional burden to local consumers.

According to the data from the Korea Consumer Agency, six out of the eight dishes most favored by Koreans when eating out saw their prices go up over the past year.

A bowl of cold noodles, or naengmyeon in Korean, was 8,692 won ($8.01) in the Seoul metropolitan area in April, up 9.7 percent from the same month a year earlier and marking the biggest on-year gain. The second-largest gainer was samgyeopsal, or pork belly. The price of pork belly came to 16,387 won per 200 grams, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier.

A bowl of jajangmyeon, or black bean sauce noodles, fetched 4,923 won, the same as last year. Bibimbap, or Korean mixed rice, was the sole loser, with its price dropping 0.9 percent.

Yonhap