Naengmyeon hits 18,000 won outside, samgyeopsal tops 40,000 won at home as food prices surge

Prices are rising at restaurants and in home kitchens alike. Samgyetang, naengmyeon and kimbap — staples of the Korean summer table — have all climbed in price, and the cost of grilling samgyeopsal at home has risen nearly 12% over the past year.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency's price information portal, the average price of samgyetang in Seoul rose from 18,154 won ($13) to 18,192 won in July. Naengmyeon climbed from 12,615 won to 12,692 won, and a roll of kimbap edged up from 3,838 won to 3,869 won.

Samgyetang had already risen from an average of 18,000 won in December last year to 18,154 won in January, and prices soared again six months later. Analysts attribute the increase to a surge in chicken consumption driven by both seasonal demand for summer stamina foods and a boost from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. Higher production costs — including feed and logistics — added further pressure, as did a sharp rise in the price of ginseng, a key samgyetang ingredient. As of Friday, the average price of a bundle of fresh ginseng (12 to 14 roots) stood at 38,750 won, up 56% from 24,800 won during the same period last year.

Naengmyeon prices have also risen consistently. The average price of naengmyeon in Seoul climbed three times — from 12,500 won in December last year to 12,538 won in January, 12,615 won in April and 12,692 won in July. Woo Rae Ok, a well-known Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant in Seoul, raised its price from 16,000 won to 18,000 won in April. Rising costs for broth ingredients such as brisket, along with higher labor, rent and gas expenses, have all fed through to menu prices.

Kimbap has followed the same trajectory. The average price of a kimbap roll in Seoul rose from 3,723 won in December last year to 3,800 won in January, then climbed to 3,838 won in June and 3,869 won in July — three increases so far this year. Kimbap is a labor-intensive dish requiring the preparation and cooking of multiple ingredients, making it particularly sensitive to rising labor costs. Extreme heat has also driven up the prices of raw materials such as dried seaweed and spinach, placing kimbap at the center of what some are calling "heatflation" — a portmanteau of heat and inflation.

Cooking at home offers little relief. A Korea Consumer Agency report on themed price trends found that the average cost of ingredients for one serving of samgyeopsal in the first half of this year came to 10,191 won, up 11.8% from 9,112 won in the same period last year. The figure combines the prices of 200 grams of pork belly, 50 grams of kimchi, 15 grams of garlic, 70 grams of lettuce and 15 grams of ssamjang.

Breaking down the figures by item, pork belly rose 13.6% to 7,866 won. Lettuce climbed 6.3% to 1,314 won, while kimchi edged up 1.2% to 585 won. Garlic increased 10.2% to 281 won and ssamjang rose 19.8% to 145 won. For a family of four, the total ingredient cost for a samgyeopsal meal has now surpassed 40,000 won.

By contrast, the cost of eating samgyeopsal at a restaurant rose less than 3% over the same period. The average price of a single serving at a restaurant in the first half of this year was 17,745 won, up 2.7% from a year earlier. The gap between dining out and cooking at home narrowed by 619 won — from 8,173 won in the first half of last year to 7,554 won in the first half of this year.

"The prolonged heat wave is pushing up ingredient prices, and that will continue to weigh on overall inflation in the second half of the year," an industry official said. "There is a real risk that not only self-employed restaurant owners but the broader retail sector — including traditional markets — will feel the squeeze."