Average Cost of Chuseok Ancestral Ritual Table 323,268 Won... 1.6% Increase Compared to Two Weeks Ago

Investigation Results of the Price Monitoring Center by the Korea Consumer Organization Council

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] A survey revealed that it costs an average of 323,268 KRW to prepare a Chuseok ancestral rite table for a family of four this year.

On the 7th, the Korea Consumer Agency Price Monitoring Center announced that it conducted a price survey of 24 ritual food items at 90 markets and retail stores across 25 districts in Seoul on the 1st and 2nd, ahead of Chuseok. The results showed this average cost. This is about 1.6% higher than the average cost of 318,097 KRW recorded in the survey conducted by the agency on the 18th and 19th of last month.

By item category, prices of vegetables and forest products (-3.7%) and livestock products (-0.6%) decreased compared to two weeks ago, while seafood (27%) and fruits (4.4%) increased. In particular, the price of dried yellow croaker (chamjogi) rose sharply from 4,948 KRW three weeks ago to 10,692 KRW in this survey, an increase of 116.1%.

Compared to one week before last year's Chuseok, the cost of preparing the ancestral rite table increased by 8.5%. Among the 24 items, prices of 20 items rose by an average of about 16% compared to last year. Notable price increases were seen in spinach (86%), dried yellow croaker (32.8%), and jujube (31.0%). Prices of ingredients commonly used in ritual foods, such as cooking oil (26.6%) and wheat flour (25.5%), also increased.

By retail type, purchasing at traditional markets was the cheapest at 252,656 KRW. This was followed by general supermarkets (275,838 KRW), corporate supermarkets (307,857 KRW), large discount stores (317,692 KRW), and department stores (501,181 KRW).

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