The inflation rate of gim (dried seaweed) rose by 10 percent last month, according to Statistics Korea, the most in 14 months since last February's 11.8 percent.
The retail price of Korean staple gim (dried seaweed) jumped almost 30 percent last week from a year earlier, as demand for the food outpaced its supply due to booming exports.
As the price of Korean staple gim (dried seaweed) took a steep surge due to booming exports, the government stepped in to reign in the soaring prices with a supply stabilization scheme.
A Japanese tourist buys gim, or dried seaweed, at a discount mart in Seoul on Sunday. The export volume of gim compiled from January and February rose 28.1 percent to $141.36 million compared to the same period the year before.
Amid soaring seafood prices, the wholesale price of gim (dried seaweed) per bundle jumped 38 percent on year to 9,072 won ($6.89), according to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation on Thursday.
Gim Hong-sok's solo exhibition challenges Eurocentrism with "entanglement" art, blending Western and Eastern influences to provoke alternative perspectives on normality and failure.
Korean gim, or dried seaweed, was shipped and sold to more than 120 countries worldwide, including Japan, China and Thailand.
The global popularity of K-food led to a surge in exports of ramyeon, gim and cooked rice this year, leading to gimbap shortages in Korean supermarkets.
Korea's exports for gim, or dried seaweed, surpassed the 1 trillion won ($770 million) mark for the first time following the rising demand from emerging markets.
Over $670 million worth of gim was exported between January to October this year, an increase of 20.7 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service on Wednesday.
Korea JoongAng Daily Sitemap
