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Home for the holiday dinner: Rising restaurant prices squeeze households

Published: 04 May. 2025, 17:53

A restaurant in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, displays its menu and prices on April 6. [NEWS1]

Faced with soaring restaurant prices, Lee, a 40-something living in Seoul, decided to host an annual May family gathering at home this year instead of eating out.

Over 10 family members gathered in Lee's home for a homemade meal during the first weekend of May — which includes both Children’s Day and Parents’ Day in Korea.

Lee had made reservations at a barbecue restaurant near their parents’ home annually until last year, but chose to cook this time due to the high cost of dining out.

“I can’t even think about eating out when beef costs over 40,000 won ($28) per serving,” Lee said. “Even if we eat pork belly at around 20,000 won per serving, the bill easily goes over 300,000 won for the whole family.”

Dining costs in Korea have continued to rise steadily.

An employee arranges pork belly servings at a large supermarket in Seoul on April 13. [NEWS1]

The national restaurant price index in April climbed to 124.36, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, the biggest increase since March 2023, when the rate stood at 3.4 percent, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service.

Restaurant prices rose by 2.9 percent in January, 3 percent in February and 3 percent in March before jumping again in April.

The overall consumer price index increased 2.1 percent last month, exceeding 2 percent for the fourth straight month.

Dining costs made a significant contribution to this trend, accounting for 0.45 percentage points of the overall figure. A persistently high exchange rate and a wave of price hikes by food manufacturers have fueled the spike in dining prices.

Samgyeopsal, or pork belly, a go-to menu item for Korean diners, now costs over 20,000 won per serving.

Data from the Korea Consumer Agency shows that the average price of a 200-gram (0.4-pound) serving of pork belly at barbecue restaurants in Seoul first exceeded 20,000 won in May 2024 and continued to rise to 20,276 won by March this year.

A family of four who orders four servings of pork belly along with two bowls of naengmyeon — a traditional Korean cold buckwheat noodle dish — priced at 12,115 won each will now spend over 100,000 won in one meal.

The prices of other popular dishes have also risen.

Raw fish climbed by 5.4 percent, jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) by 5.1 percent, jjampong (spicy seafood noodle soup) by 4.9 percent, fried rice by 4.5 percent and sweet and sour pork by 3.6 percent compared to a year ago, according to data from Statistics Korea.

Fast food and street food prices followed suit, with hamburgers up 6.6 percent, tteokbokki — spicy stir-fried rice cakes — up 5.4 percent and fried chicken up 5.3 percent.

Alcohol, on the other hand, remains an exception.

Soju prices dropped by 1 percent compared to a year ago and have stayed in negative territory for eight straight months since September 2024.

Bottles of soju are on display at a supermarket in Seoul on Feb. 3. [YONHAP]

Beer prices have fallen for five consecutive months since December 2024, down 0.3 percent in April. Analysts believe restaurant owners are cutting alcohol prices to attract customers as fewer people eat out.

A recent survey by the Korea Economic Research Institute found that 71.5 percent of 1,000 adults said their household finances worsened over the past year. Among them, 71.9 percent cited price hikes as the biggest burden, and 72 percent pointed to food and dining as the area with the steepest increases.

Experts warn that dining prices are unlikely to fall anytime soon.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported that the global food price index rose 1 percent in April to 128.3, marking the fourth straight month of increases.

Meat prices rose 3.2 percent during the same period. These international price hikes have pushed up import costs and, in turn, domestic wholesale and restaurant prices.

The wholesale price of Grade 1+ domestic pork, for example, reached 2,559 won per kilogram (2.2 pounds) as of Saturday, up 15.2 percent from 2,222 won a year earlier.

Livestock product inflation in April hit 4.8 percent, the highest since July 2022, when it rose 6.1 percent.

To stabilize prices, the government will apply new tariff quotas on imported pork and processed egg products and plans to cut additional tariff rates.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance has also allocated a 170 billion won supplementary budget to support discounts on agricultural, livestock and fishery products.

“We will continue to monitor supply, pricing and distribution trends for key items like food, fuel, and daily essentials, and respond quickly when necessary,” an official from the ministry said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM WON [[email protected]]