Holding and lowering apples... Everything except alcohol rose on Seol

7,000 Won for a Bunch of Green Onions, 9,000 Won for a Carton of Eggs
Fruit Prices Up 64%... Total Table Setting Costs Rise 30% Compared to Last Year

[Asia Economy reporters Jo In-kyung, Kim Yuri, Lim Chun-han] "A pack of 25 eggs costs 8,000 won. A tray of 30 eggs definitely costs well over 9,000 won, right?"

"Oh dear, I guess I really have to visit the traditional market tomorrow. A bunch of green onions is 7,000 won, and a single pumpkin costs more than 3,000 won..."

With social distancing measures tightened and gatherings of five or more people banned during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, the burden on housewives trying to prepare even a proper family meal has increased. Due to last year's heavy rains and typhoons, prices of major ceremonial items including rice and fruit have risen sharply, and processed food prices have also been increasing one after another since the new year, causing the cost of Lunar New Year table settings to rise by about 30%.

Lunar New Year Ancestral Table Costs 170,000 Won, Up 30%

On the 8th, Asia Economy surveyed the cost of Lunar New Year table settings at major large supermarkets and found it to be 174,600 won, a 29.9% increase from last year's 134,421 won. This is based on the simplified Lunar New Year ancestral table purchase cost announced by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, comparing last year's average consumer prices by item from distribution companies.

This Lunar New Year, fruit prices rose the most, with the cost of purchasing five items?jujubes, chestnuts, dried persimmons, apples, and pears?increasing sharply from 27,311 won last year to 44,797 won this year, a 64.0% surge. The poor fruit harvest due to the long summer rainy season and typhoons caused prices to rise significantly. Prices of beef for meat dishes and eggs also increased, pushing the price of meat dishes from 37,456 won to 54,880 won, a 46.5% rise.

Spinach prices rose 5.5% due to the winter cold wave, and prices of vegetables such as green onions, onions, cucumbers, and paprika have remained strong compared to previous years.

While many large supermarkets are holding discounts on Korean beef, keeping the cost of making soup up only 1.9% higher at 27,374 won, the rise in rice prices has increased the cost of domestic rice cake soup, making the price of rice cake soup with beef 4.9% more expensive.

Putting Vegetables Back in the Cart

On the last holiday before the Lunar New Year, the 7th, a woman in her 40s, Ms. Lee, whom we met at Homeplus in Sangam-dong, Seoul, hesitated while picking up and putting down a bunch of green onions in the vegetable section. Ms. Lee said, "The prices of essential ingredients like green onions and onions have skyrocketed. It's tough enough to prepare dinner for my family, let alone gatherings with relatives." The price of a bunch of green onions was 7,490 won. Last year's price was about 3,000 won, and the average price in normal years was around 1,500 to 1,800 won, so it has increased several times over.

At a nearby E-Mart around the same time, a woman in her 60s, Ms. Choi, was arguing with her husband who had come shopping with her. While her husband put apples and pears into the cart and looked at apple mangoes and bananas, she said, "Let's just go to the traditional market one more time tomorrow," and put the fruit back on the shelf.

Ms. Choi said, "My children will visit separately during the holiday, so I have to make sure they eat properly at least once, but I don't know what else to cut back on compared to usual. I haven't even bought meat or fruit yet, but with drinks, ingredients for frying pancakes, banana milk that my grandchild likes, and a few packs of ramen, it already exceeded 100,000 won." In Ms. Choi's shopping cart for the holiday during the COVID-19 era was also a hand sanitizer priced at 8,800 won for three bottles.

Mr. Kwon from Guro-dong, who visited a nearby traditional market, said, "Apples cost 10,000 won for 3 to 5 pieces, pears are also about 10,000 won for 3 pieces, and high-quality ceremonial fruit costs 4,000 to 5,000 won each. Fruit prices at the market are even higher than last Chuseok, so I plan to buy exactly three pieces each," he said.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.