"Why Is It Like This Every Year? You'll Need to Spend 330,000 Won Just to Put Meat and Fish on the Table"

Korea Consumer Organizations Council Survey of 90 Markets and Retailers in Seoul
Up 0.4% from Last Year
Yellow Croaker Surges 31.1%, Driving Overall Increase
Some Beef Cuts More Expensive at Supermarkets Than Department Stores

With about 20 days remaining until this year's Chuseok holiday, the prices of ritual goods have shown a slight increase compared to last year. While prices for vegetables, wild greens, and fruits-which saw significant increases last year-have declined, the rise in prices of certain livestock and seafood products, such as beef and yellow croaker, has pushed the average cost higher.

Domestic beef display at a large supermarket in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Price Monitoring Center of the Korea Consumer Organizations Council on September 20, the center conducted a first-round survey of 24 Chuseok ritual items on September 15-16. The average cost for a family of four was calculated at 330,362 won, representing a 0.4% increase compared to the survey conducted about three weeks before last year's Chuseok.

The survey covered 24 Chuseok ritual items sold at 90 locations across Seoul's 25 districts, including traditional markets, department stores, large supermarkets, corporate supermarkets (SSMs), and general supermarkets.

Among the items surveyed, 14 items (approximately 58.3%) saw price increases compared to last year. By category, seafood products rose by 11.6%, other food products by 11.0%, and livestock products also showed an overall increase of 7.7%. For seafood, while pollock fillet prices fell slightly by 1.6% year-on-year, yellow croaker surged by 31.1%, driving the overall increase. In the other food products category, prices for songpyeon (14.2%), yakgwa (7.1%), and yugwa (6.4%) all rose.

On the other hand, prices for vegetables, wild greens, and fruits fell by 16.0% and 4.2%, respectively, compared to last year. Notably, chestnuts (-24.8%), spinach (-23.0%), and jujube (-15.9%) saw significant drops. Among fruits, the price of pears fell by 19.5% year-on-year.

The Korea Consumer Organizations Council stated, "Although there were concerns about the prices of vegetables, wild greens, and fruits due to abnormal weather, overall, prices have remained stable." However, they also pointed out, "Since seafood and livestock products, which account for a large share of consumption, remain expensive, the burden felt by consumers is unlikely to decrease significantly."

By distribution channel, the cost of preparing a Chuseok ritual table was highest at department stores (431,243 won), followed by large supermarkets (301,414 won), SSMs (288,404 won), general supermarkets (233,789 won), and traditional markets (220,470 won).

Prices for livestock products such as beef, pork, and eggs (regular) increased across all distribution channels compared to last Chuseok. Department stores saw the highest increase at 17.2%, followed by traditional markets (11.4%), large supermarkets (9.3%), SSMs (6.5%), and general supermarkets (2.7%). The council paid particular attention to the fact that large supermarkets saw nearly double-digit increases in livestock product prices this year, following a 13.5% rise last year, and that prices for certain cuts were higher than those at department stores or other sales channels. For example, the price of beef for skewers and general use at large supermarkets was 59,732 won, which is 5,720 won more expensive than at department stores (54,012 won). Additionally, beef brisket for soup at large supermarkets (53,223 won) was 1.6 times higher than at traditional markets (32,613 won).

The council stated, "Despite the government's Chuseok livelihood stabilization measures, such as expanding slaughter and shipment and providing discount support, and even though there are no special issues with livestock products, prices continue to rise every year." They added, "We question whether large supermarkets are setting higher prices and then applying deep discounts, making consumers believe they are purchasing at a bargain." They continued, "Distribution companies should fundamentally set reasonable prices, rather than relying on temporary event-driven price cuts," and added, "We hope a stable market environment will be created so that consumers can truly feel a reduction in their financial burden."