A bowl of bibimbap in Seoul now costs 12,000 won. The average price of a bowl of bibimbap in the capital reached 12,000 won in September, according to data released on the 20th by Cham-Price, the price information portal run by the Korea Consumer Agency. That is up 77 won from 11,923 won the previous month and marks the first time the average has risen above the 12,000-won mark.
Bibimbap combines rice with a fried egg, meat, assorted vegetables and gochujang chili paste, and the recent climb in agricultural and livestock prices has pushed the dish higher, analysts said.
Consumer price data from the National Data Agency showed rice prices rose 2.3% in September from a year earlier, while mushrooms climbed 12.5%, domestic beef 6.6% and eggs 1.1%.
In Seoul, a bowl of jajangmyeon noodles rose to 7,808 won in September from 7,731 won in August, and a kimchi stew set meal edged up to 8,846 won from 8,769 won. A roll of gimbap held at 3,923 won, unchanged from a month earlier.
With lunch routinely costing well above 10,000 won — a trend dubbed "lunchflation" — young consumers are downsizing, buying half-rolls of gimbap or turning to budget burgers.
A post titled "half-roll gimbap, which they say is seeing rising demand" drew attention on online communities. It showed a small gimbap roll wrapped in foil, along with a photo of it unwrapped, and said five pieces — roughly half a standard roll — were selling for about 2,500 won. Commenters wrote that it was "reasonable given that a full roll costs more than 5,000 won" and that it was "a good substitute for a triangle rice ball."
As the burden of lunch spending grows, price-sensitive young adults are increasingly seeking products that cut both portion size and price, analysts said.