The most popular restaurant menu item this year is kimbap… Raw fish and lunch boxes also rise

Among the major restaurant menu items this year, the price of kimbap rose the steepest.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency's price information portal 'participation price' on the 11th, the average price of eight consumer-preferred restaurant menus in Seoul in September rose 2.5% compared to December last year.

This is the result of a survey on the prices of eating out cold noodles, bibimbap, kimchi stew, pork belly, Jajangmyeon, samgyetang, kalguksu, and kimbap.

The Korea Consumer Agency is disclosing the results of averaging restaurant menu prices sampled by local governments.

The average price of one line of gimbap was 3,923 won, up 5.4% from the end of last year (3,723 won), ranking first in the rate of increase.

Kimbab Heaven's 'Original Gimbap' is priced at around 3,500 won, which is lower than the average price, but Kimgane's 'Kimgane Gimbap' is priced at around 5,000 won, and in many Seoul snack bars, a line of kimbap has already risen to around 4,000 won.

Bibimbap rose 3.7% from 11,577 won in December last year to 12,000 won in September this year, ranking second in increase rate.

The price increase rate for the remaining six menu items was pork belly (2.3%), kimchi stew 100% (2.2%), Jajangmyeon (2.0%), cold noodles and samgyetang (1.5%), and kalguksu (1.2%).

Kimbap and bibimbap rose more than the overall average, while the other six menus rose relatively less.

This can be interpreted as a result of the increase in the price of major raw materials used in rice menus, such as eggs and rice, as well as the increase in labor costs.

According to data from the National Data Center, which covers a more comprehensive survey, among all 39 restaurant items, the item with the highest consumer price increase rate as of September compared to the same period last year was lunch boxes (8.4%). Kimbap (4.9%) and raw fish (4.5%) followed.

Conversely, the price of hamburgers (-1.6%) fell, and the prices of pizza (0.0%) and coffee (0.2%) did not differ much from the previous year.

The Korea Consumer Agency said, “As of September, egg prices rose 11.6% compared to the beginning of the year, forming the highest price range this year.”