Jeju Samgyeopsal with 'Scaffold Controversy' at 17,000 Won, Highest Nationwide... 4,000 Won More Expensive Than Average

Ministry of the Interior and Safety March Dining Out Price Information
Jeju-do Samgyeopsal Prices Highest Nationwide
Average 17,000 Won... Increasing g Puts Seoul in 1st Place

The price of Samgyeopsal in Jeju Island, which has been suffering from consecutive controversies over 'fatty Samgyeopsal,' was found to be the highest in the country.

Jeju Island Samgyeopsal criticized as 'fatty Samgyeopsal'.
[Photo by Online Community]

According to the dining price information from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 10th, the average price of one serving (100~250g) of Samgyeopsal in Jeju as of the most recent statistics in March was 17,000 KRW. This is the highest price among all cities and provinces nationwide, representing a 1.5% increase from 16,750 KRW in December last year, four months ago.

The national average price for Samgyeopsal across cities and provinces was 13,086 KRW. The second highest price after Jeju was in Seoul, where the average price was recorded at 16,615 KRW. The cheapest place for Samgyeopsal was Ulsan City, with an average price of 10,000 KRW. However, when fixing the serving size of Samgyeopsal at 200g, Seoul was the most expensive at 19,981 KRW, and applying the same standard to Jeju resulted in 17,444 KRW. This indicates that Jeju sells smaller portions (less than 200g) at a higher price than Seoul.

Aside from Samgyeopsal, the prices of other items in Jeju were similar to the national average. The national average price for one roll of Gimbap was 3,094 KRW, while Jeju’s was 3,000 KRW. For Naengmyeon, Jeju’s price was 9,000 KRW (national average 9,960 KRW), and for Samgyetang, it was 15,250 KRW (national average 15,839 KRW).

Meanwhile, on the 29th of last month, a customer who visited a famous meat restaurant in Jeju publicized that the Samgyeopsal served had a high fat content. Another customer who visited Jeju in April also revealed that they received meat consisting only of fat at a meat restaurant.

As the controversy grew, Jeju’s dining industry and administrative authorities are making efforts to improve their image. On the 9th, the Jeju Tourism Association held an emergency countermeasure meeting and decided to promote ▲strengthening members’ self-regulation efforts ▲conducting surveys on tourism businesses ▲enhancing monitoring of the tourism industry ▲and strengthening promotional marketing to improve Jeju’s tourism image. Additionally, Seogwipo City in Jeju conducted on-site inspections targeting representative pork specialty restaurants among about 70 establishments around tourist areas.