It Has Become Difficult to Cook and Eat Patjuk on Jeongwol Daeboreum

Prices of Ogok and Bureom Up 5% from Last Year
Red Bean Prices Up 37.5% from Last Year

At a small Seol Dongji event held at Namsangol Hanok Village in Jung-gu, Seoul, officials are distributing red bean porridge to citizens. [Asia Economy archive photo]

As high inflation continues, the price of red beans, an ingredient for red bean porridge, has risen by nearly 40% ahead of Jeongwol Daeboreum on the 24th. Prices of bureom (nuts) and five-grain rice ingredients have also slightly increased.

On the 21st, the price survey organization Korea Price Information announced that the purchase cost (price) of the 10 main items eaten on Jeongwol Daeboreum was surveyed at 131,600 won in traditional markets and 171,480 won in large supermarkets. Compared to last year, prices rose by 5% in traditional markets and 5.4% in large supermarkets.

The survey items included five ingredients for five-grain rice (glutinous rice, sorghum, millet, red beans, black beans) and five ingredients for bureom (pine nuts, chestnuts, walnuts, ginkgo nuts, peanuts). It was also found that prices in traditional markets were 30.3% cheaper than in large supermarkets.

A vendor at Seoul Gyeongdong Market is organizing chestnuts for Bureom.

The prices of bureom and five-grain rice rose sharply in 2021 but showed a steady decline over the following two years. However, this year, most items except walnuts have increased. The rise in prices of five-grain rice ingredients is analyzed to be due to reduced production caused by adverse weather conditions such as last year’s monsoon and typhoons. In particular, due to decreased supply, the price of red beans, which has been steadily rising recently, reached 11,000 won per 800g in traditional markets, a 37.5% increase compared to last year.

[Image provided by Hanguk Mulga Jeongbo]

Walnut prices fell due to increased production, but chestnuts and ginkgo nuts rose in price due to poor crop yields caused by bad weather. Additionally, the rise in nut prices is believed to be influenced by reduced labor output due to increased labor costs.

Lee Dong-hoon, a team leader at Korea Price Information, said, "Grains, which had good yields for two consecutive years, saw reduced production this year due to decreased cultivation area and adverse weather."

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