[Report] "Running Over as Soon as They Open Their Eyes"... University Area's 1,000 Won Cafeteria Food Crowded

Kyung Hee University Student Cafeteria Sells 1,000 Won Breakfast, 100 Meals Daily
Students Line Up at Ticket Booth Before Cafeteria Opens
"Prices Are Soaring, Can't Even Eat at Restaurants Near Campus"

"As you can see, I got up and came out right away." Jeong In-geon (24, Department of Information Display) said this while showing the slippers he was wearing. He ran to the school cafeteria as soon as he got up to eat the 1000-won school meal operated by the school. Jeong said, "There is a limit of 100 people per day, but yesterday I came around 8 a.m. and was able to eat as the 50th person," adding, "Since the waiting time is long, it is not easy to prepare for the 9 a.m. class, so today I arrived at 7:50 a.m. to avoid lining up." After finishing his meal, Jeong returned to the dormitory to change clothes.

Around 8 a.m. on the 16th at Kyung Hee University Purunsol Cultural Center student cafeteria. About 10 students are lined up in front of the unmanned kiosk to have the '1000 won breakfast'. Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@

At around 8 a.m. on the 16th, at the Blue Pine Cultural Center student cafeteria of Kyung Hee University in Seoul, dozens of students lined up in front of the unmanned kiosk to eat the '1000-won breakfast.' The menu was chicken soup set meal. Among the students who had already prepared for class wearing jackets and jeans, there were also students who came out looking disheveled, wearing hats pulled down or training suits. One student even greeted a friend he happened to meet in the waiting line.

Kyung Hee University, together with the Rural Development Administration Education and Culture Information Service (Nongjeongwon), has been selling 1000-won breakfasts at 100 servings per day since the 13th. Not only Kyung Hee University but also a total of 41 universities including Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, University of Seoul, Korea University, Incheon National University, and Korea Polytechnic University have started the '1000-won breakfast' project with Nongjeongwon. According to Nongjeongwon, the 1000-won breakfast project originally involves students paying 1000 won from the school meal price, Nongjeongwon supporting 1000 won, and the school covering the remaining amount.

Students said they came to the student cafeteria to eat at a low price, even if only for breakfast, due to high prices. Seo (24, Department of Business Administration), who lives near the school, said, "Prices are high, so I usually cook at home, but it's nice to be able to buy a meal cheaply for 1000 won." Kwon Hyo-bin (20, Department of Culinary Food Design) said, "Even though I commute, I came to the cafeteria to reduce meal expenses," adding, "Even though it's 1000 won, the soup is hot and tastes good." By 8:20 a.m., the entire cafeteria was filled with students.

(Left) On the morning of the 16th, students are eating the '1000 won school meal' at the Kyung Hee University Pureunsol Cultural Center student cafeteria. (Right) A student packed some of the soup from the school meal to save on food expenses that day. Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@

The reason students flock to the 1000-won breakfast is the steep rise in prices. A restaurant in front of Kyung Hee University sells pork bone hangover soup at 9000 won, 1000 won higher than last year. The price of bossam set meal at another nearby restaurant is also 9000 won, 1000 won higher than last year. University students say that meal expenses close to 10,000 won per meal are difficult to afford. Kang Hye-su (23, Department of Business Administration), who started living in a dormitory after commuting, said, "Since I have to solve meals by eating out, meal expenses are about twice as much as before," adding, "Recently, I don't make meal plans with friends and buy instant rice or eat school meals." Jeong packed some of the chicken soup he got from the school meal and returned to the dormitory. Jeong said, "When I eat school meals or at restaurants, there is often a lot of leftover soup, so I pack it and eat it with instant rice for lunch or dinner."

At 8:42 a.m., about 30 minutes after the start of the 1000-won breakfast, 100 bowls were sold out. Nari-gil (27, PhD program in Smart Tourism), an international student from Inner Mongolia who arrived a bit late, said, "I sent a message to my roommate in the dormitory who hasn't come out yet that it was sold out." She added, "I couldn't eat yesterday either, so I came out 5 minutes earlier today, and I will definitely eat it tomorrow." Nari-gil was debating whether to buy bread but ended up paying the original price of 4000 won to buy breakfast.

Kyung Hee University is considering whether to increase the serving amount as more students than expected flocked. A Kyung Hee University official said, "Before the 1000-won breakfast, 40 to 50 breakfasts were served at this student cafeteria," adding, "These days, more than 120 people come for breakfast, so we are reviewing whether to increase the number of servings," and "We are also considering restricting outsiders and selling 1000-won meal tickets only to Kyung Hee University students."