Wah!!! South Korea buffet so cheap!!! Less than US$7 only!

Ye_Rongtian

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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asi...onvenience-stores-lunch-flation-bites-2776186
SEOUL: Office worker Park Mi-won had never bought her lunch from a convenience store, until her favourite lunch buffet recently raised prices by more than 10 per cent to 9,000 won (US$7) as South Korean inflation soared to a 14-year high.
"After the price rise, I went to convenience stores instead, where I thought the prices were reasonable while food also tasted good," the 62-year-old said. "So now I go there two to three times a week."
Global food prices surged 23 per cent last month from a year before, according to an agricultural arm of the United Nations. The war in Ukraine has impacted supplies of grains from there and Russia, and caused energy and fertiliser prices to soar.
Offering cheap instant noodles, sandwiches and gimbap (rice rolls) for under US$5, convenience stores are gaining in popularity as salaried workers like Park seek ways to cut costs.
South Korean convenience shop chain GS25 posted more than 30 per cent increases in sales of instant meals in January to May compared to a year ago.
Seeing increasing demand, GS25 has also launched a new meal subscription service for office workers, which comes with price discounts and deliveries directly to offices.
Peers including CU and 7-Eleven have seen similar surges in demand, while Emart24 saw a 50 per cent jump in lunch-box sales in areas with a large number of office blocks.
Those gains came as the prices of restaurant dishes in South Korea rose 7.4 per cent last month compared with a year earlier, the fastest pace in 24 years.
Dubbed "lunch-flation", the price of beloved dishes such as galbitang (beef stew with rice) jumped 12.2 per cent and nengmyun (cold noodles) rose 8.1 per cent, according to government statistics.
While convenience store lunches have not been immune from rising costs, their much lower overall prices have helped them gain in popularity.
Around the capital Seoul, average nengmyun prices recently broke above 10,000 won, according to Korea Consumer Agency data, whereas instant ramen noodles is still available at slightly above 1,000 won at convenience stores.

2022-06-29t000257z_1_lynxmpei5s004_rtroptp_3_southkorea-economy-inflation-convenience-store.jpg
Lee Sang-jae, owner of a meat restaurant, cuts meat at a restaurant in Seoul on Jun 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Heo Ran)
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Office workers pick up lunch boxes at a convenience store in Seoul on Jun 24, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Heo Ran)
2022-06-29t001411z_2_lynxmpei5s007_rtroptp_3_southkorea-economy-inflation-convenience-store.jpg
An office worker eats his lunch at a convenience store in Seoul on Jun 24, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Heo Ran)
2022-06-29t000257z_1_lynxmpei5s003_rtroptp_3_southkorea-economy-inflation-convenience-store.jpg
Lee Sang-jae, owner of a meat restaurant, cuts meat at a restaurant in Seoul on Jun 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Heo Ran)


The Bank of Korea estimates each 1 per cent price rise in imported agricultural products will push up processed food prices by 0.36 per cent in the next year and restaurant prices by 0.14 per cent in next three years.
Some operators say that diners should expect bigger price hikes.
"As a matter of fact, I need to raise the price even higher," said Lee Sang-jae, who runs a galbitang restaurant in Seoul's central district and has already raised prices twice this year, to 12,000 won from 10,000 won.
"Instead, I am giving up some of my profit margin, as I also have to consider office workers' light wallets these days."
In a survey by human resources firm Incruit last month, 96 per cent of 1,004 office workers said that they now found lunch prices burdensome. Among those, almost half were looking for ways to cut lunch spending.
But in South Korea, lunchtime has been regarded sacred among office workers, who often mingle with friends and colleagues for longer than the allotted hour at busy diners.
"It is much cheaper than going to a restaurant, but the downside is we cannot have lunch all together here," said Ku Dong-hyun, 28, chomping on gimbap and ramen noodles from a GS25 for his Friday lunch.
While many small restaurants are still benefiting from a bounce-back in evening dining after months of COVID-19 social distancing rules, economists warn that prolonged pressure on consumer prices will weigh on consumption.
"Real purchasing power is shrinking amid fierce inflation pressures, but people don't want to cut down evening gatherings they just started, while on lunches they can," said Lee Seung-hoon, chief economist at Meritz Securities.
"As high-marching consumer prices last longer and longer, it will start to weigh on private consumption, and when it does, together with worsening external conditions for exports, it will raise questions about the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening that we are seeing now."
 

Hisashiburi

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Wow so cheap!
Haha don't know where to find so cheap buffet.

Sometimes I get food from convenience stores here.
The food is actually really good.
Usually about $5.5 or so.
They are made from recipes by famous Chefs n such.

The last buffet I went to was a hotpot unlimited beef (thin beef slices) buffet around $14 lunch.
That was not bad.
A bit limited choices but unlimited beef is good.
 

Shion

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well, is it the food ingredients is their own country produce de ?
 

Ethan_

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Well, think if go out into the world see, might have the impression that everywhere is cheaper (pun), except local. :s22:

Anyway, pun asides, if not wrong, see their many video on food, impression is their typical street food (equivalent to local hawker perhaps) are often on the average about 2 to 3 thousands plus won, larger serving not more than 5000 won. Which think is about local 2 to 3 bucks or 5 bucks. Not sure now how got increase or increase by how much.

Think JP the average street food also about there quite cheap. Irony is local society not that much more advance than them, but alot of things are on the more expensive side. Then there are quite some locals really suaku local increase to 8 buck still can call cheap. Other places cheap is really cheap. Local can only self console that its (pseudo) cheap, compare to other more expensive food. :s22:
 
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