'20,000 Won Steamed Egg' More Expensive Than Samgyeopsal... What Did They Put In As Egg Prices Fall?

Rising Dining Prices and 'Shrinkflation' Tactics
Consumer Price Inflation May Exceed 3% Again

As prices continue to soar, a steamed egg side dish that used to be a regular item has appeared with a price tag of 20,000 won. Recently, a post titled 'Recent Price of Steamed Egg' was uploaded on an online community. It stated that a restaurant was selling steamed eggs for as much as 20,000 won. The size was not large, nor did it contain expensive ingredients. Moreover, according to the Livestock Products Quality Evaluation Institute, the farm price of eggs (based on 30 special eggs) fell by about 15 won per egg, from 5,105 won on February 1 to 4,653 won on February 26.

A recent post titled 'Steamed Egg Price Update' was uploaded on an online community. [Photo by Online Community]

Netizens who saw the post reacted with disbelief, saying things like, "Isn't steamed egg usually served as a complimentary dish?", "Not 2,000 won but 20,000 won?", "Prices are rising like this but only my salary stays the same," "Are you sure it's 20,000 won? Maybe an employee mistakenly added an extra zero," and "I would accept it if it had gold flakes or golden eggs in it." One netizen pointed out that the restaurant sells whiskey and suggested that it is hard to justify the high price by claiming that the steamed egg contains shrimp and other ingredients. Also, not long ago, a restaurant sparked controversy by raising the price of a bowl of rice, which had been 1,000 won for years, to 3,000 won.

Price of a Single Serving of Pork Belly Continues to Rise Despite Wholesale Price Drop

Meanwhile, although the wholesale price of pork has been declining for five consecutive months since September last year, dining-out prices have risen further, deepening the sighs of ordinary people. According to the Korea Consumer Agency's comprehensive price information portal 'Chamgagaek', dining-out prices rose across the board in January, with pork belly showing a significant increase. Based on 200g of pork belly, the market price dropped from 5,340 won on September 30 last year to 4,704 won on January 31 this year, but restaurant prices rose from 19,253 won to 19,429 won during the same period. Compared to 16,983 won on January 1, 2022, this is a 14.4% increase over two years.

Among restaurants in the Seoul metropolitan area, some have started selling a single serving of Samgyeopsal for 20,000 won, and the average price is expected to surpass 20,000 won soon.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

Some restaurants in Seoul and the metropolitan area have started selling a single serving of pork belly for 20,000 won, and the average price is expected to surpass 20,000 won soon.

As restaurant meat prices continue to rise, a deceptive tactic called 'shrinkflation' has emerged. The term combines 'shrink,' meaning to reduce, and 'inflation,' referring to price increases, and it is a method to deceive consumers. In fact, some businesses have been criticized for keeping prices the same but reducing a single serving from 200g to 120g. As similar cases increase, the Korea Consumer Agency has created a separate reporting page for shrinkflation and is notifying users with a popup on the Chamgagaek site.

Government Warns of Larger Increase in Inflation Rate... Could Exceed 3%

Earlier this month, Statistics Korea announced that the consumer price index for January was 113.15 (2020=100), up 2.8% from a year earlier. Although it fell to the 2% range for the first time in six months since July last year (2.4%), it is still too early to say that it has fully settled in the 2% range. This is because prices of agricultural products and oil are on the rise. Among the 458 items surveyed for overall price levels by Statistics Korea, agricultural and livestock products and fruits account for significant weights of 75.6 and 14.6 out of 1,000, respectively.

Although the consumer price inflation rate fell to the 2% range at the beginning of the new year, there are forecasts that the rate of increase will accelerate again in the first half of the year. On the 12th, Statistics Korea announced that food prices last month rose by 6.0% compared to a year ago. This is more than double the overall consumer price inflation rate (2.8%). Although the rise in food prices is slowing down, the pace is slow, keeping it in the 6% range for four consecutive months.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Amid this, the government has assessed that the consumer price inflation rate could again exceed 3%. On the 29th, Deputy Minister Kim Byung-hwan emphasized the government's cross-ministerial efforts to stabilize prices, noting that the consumer price inflation rate, which had fallen to the 2% range last month, might rise above 3% again. Deputy Minister Kim said, "The core inflation rate, which shows the underlying price trend, has fallen to the mid-2% range," but added, "Uncertainty is increasing due to the influence of volatile items such as agricultural products and petroleum amid an overall slowing trend."

In particular, prices of apples and pears continue to rise due to poor harvests. International oil prices remain at the $80 per barrel level due to instability in the Middle East. Deputy Minister Kim urged, "The inflation rate for February may exceed 3% as the increase is larger than the 2.8% recorded in January. Please strengthen efforts to stabilize prices with special vigilance."

The Bank of Korea has identified agricultural product prices and international oil prices as the biggest variables for inflation in the near term. Earlier this month, Kim Woong, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Korea, said at a 'Price Situation Review Meeting,' "Due to increased uncertainty in oil prices and the high level of agricultural product prices, the slowing trend may pause temporarily, leading to a possible short-term rise."

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