The price of kimbap, long considered a staple affordable meal for ordinary Koreans, is rising at an alarming pace, driven by sharp increases in the cost of its core ingredients — rice, eggs and dried seaweed.
According to data from the Korea Consumer Agency's price information portal, the average price of a single kimbap roll in Seoul stood at 3,838 won in June, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier.
That increase was the steepest among the eight major dining categories tracked by the agency, outpacing samgyeopsal at 4.3 percent, knife-cut noodles at 3.6 percent, naengmyeon and samgyetang each at 2.8 percent, bibimbap at 2.7 percent, jajangmyeon at 2.1 percent and kimchi stew at 1.8 percent.
The Korea Consumer Agency monitors price trends for eight widely consumed dining items, and kimbap recorded the fastest price growth among them.
The average price of a kimbap roll in Seoul climbed from 3,723 won in December to 3,800 won in January, then rose again to 3,838 won over the following five months.
Rising ingredient costs are largely to blame. Higher prices for rice, eggs and dried seaweed have pushed up production costs, which have ultimately been passed on to consumers.
Ministry of Statistics consumer price index data show that rice prices rose 13.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, while eggs climbed 9.0 percent and dried seaweed 2.5 percent.
As agricultural and livestock prices continue to rise, kimbap price increases are accelerating. The year-on-year rate widened from 4.2 percent in June to 4.5 percent in July.
With inflation expected to persist for now, analysts say the burden of dining-out costs — including kimbap — is unlikely to ease anytime soon.
gil@heraldcorp.com
