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Sparse gimbap at festival leads to price gouging complaints

Published: 14 Oct. 2025, 15:44 Updated: 14 Oct. 2025, 18:07

Gimbap sold at a local festival is seen in a photo posted to an online community. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A simple roll of gimbap priced at 4,000 won ($2.80) at a local festival has sparked criticism online, with users accusing the vendor of price gouging.

A post titled “4,000-won gimbap” appeared Tuesday on an online community forum. It included a photo of the roll, which appeared to contain only rice, pickled radish, egg and a few pieces of carrot.

The post quickly went viral, drawing complaints from commenters who said the gimbap was overpriced and lacked sufficient ingredients. Some described it as “just seaweed and rice,” calling the markup excessive even for a festival.

As of April, the average price of a roll of gimbap in Seoul was 3,623 won, according to the Korea Consumer Agency.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]