'Lunchflation' pushes popularity in public office cafeterias

Visitors dine at Seodaemun District Office's cafeteria in western Seoul on Wednesday. [SEODAEMUN DISTRICT OFFICE]

Cafeterias of public offices such as district offices, police stations and libraries have become popular lunch spots for Koreans who wish to grab affordable meals amid these days of "lunchflation." These cafeterias provide different lunch options each day at around 5,000 won ($3.8) per dish.

Yeongdeungpo District Office's cafeteria had a long queue of visitors who came to grab a bowl of fried rice topped with black bean sauce, priced at 5,300 won. The meal, served buffet style, included fried dumplings, pickled radish and kimchi as side dishes and also offered salad and dessert. A Chinese restaurant across the street from the district office in western Seoul sold the same meal but for 8,000 won.

Yeongdeungpo District Office has opened its cafeteria doors to visitors for public welfare purposes since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The cafeteria opens at 11:30 a.m. for the district office employees and serves meals for visitors between 12:20 p.m. and 1 p.m. to avoid overcrowding.

"Around 70 visitors and employees from nearby companies dine in each day [at the cafeteria] because it's cheaper than eating at restaurants in the area," the district office cafeteria's manager, Oh Yeon-joo, said.

The cost-effectiveness of meals is one reason non-employees visit the cafeterias of public offices.

A 5,500-won dish in Mapo District Office's cafeteria offers seven side dishes, and the combination varies day by day with fixed side dishes of kimchi, salads, jeon (Korean pancake) and soup. The cafeteria is also open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Gangnam District Office in southern Seoul offers three meal choices every day at its cafeteria: a Korean dish priced at 5,000 won, a Chinese or Western dish at 5,500 won and a special menu at 6,000 won.

The cafeteria of Jeongdok Public Library in Jongno District, central Seoul, offers five meal options, including ramyeon, udon, baekban (Korean home-cooked style meal) and pork cutlet dishes priced around 5,000 won each.

"Of the 150 people who eat in at our cafeteria, 50 are visitors," the library cafeteria manager surnamed Byun said, pointing out that a cup of brewed coffee sold at 1,000 won is also a favorite purchase for residents in the area.

Cafeterias of public offices can offer meals at affordable prices because they can make bulk purchases due to having a relatively fixed customer base of office employees, as well as only needing to offer a few menu options.

"We can react to rises in food prices by changing the menu to dishes with ingredients that did not rise so much," a public official at Yangcheon District Office in western Seoul said. The district office is also able to keep prices low by purchasing ingredients at early morning auctions, the official added.

But the trend leaves some office employees and owners of restaurants in the vicinity unhappy.

"There are times when employees can't eat in the cafeteria when a popular dish is on the menu," an employee at one district office said. Additionally, some restaurant owners have filed complaints to secure sales, the employee added.

The price of eating out has been rising for the past 29 months. The rise peaked in September last year at 9 percent and has decreased since then to 7.6 percent this April but still remains well above the overall consumer price increase of 3.7 percent.

"People will continue to be driven toward cafeteria meals and convenience store lunch boxes due to soaring prices of eating out," Lee Eun-hee, a professor of consumer science at Inha University, said.

BY KIM KI-HWAN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]