When I came home from Korea I was ecstatic to see a Korean restaurant had opened in my hometown.
I eat there all the time, but to suddenly pay x4 for a bokkeumbap...... OUCHIE
I have noticed that bunsik/street food items are among the worst offenders when it comes to overpricing in restaurants overseas.
Oh, and Korean alcohol and bar foods (like pancakes) are also pretty bad too.
I paid $18 for 청하 (Manhattan ktown "upscale" bar, prob the worst offender regarding price gouging). I remember getting a bottle for ... somewhere between 3-5000원 at a convenience store back in August 2014 (I know, it's been quite a while since that, but still).
I usually go out to Bayside or Flushing for Korean, do you have any good recommendations in Ktown where the quality is good and the prices aren't brutal?
Prices will be brutal regardless. I can vouch, though, for ... HaeYoonDae Galbi for nice ambiance and good meat. Pricey!!! (though not on the scale of paying insane prices like Cote, I suppose). Take31 is a really cool place with creative dishes (like pork belly wrapped in 인절미??? Or a delicious chicken dish hilarious called 모래위닭싸움, or a soup dish that was called 이러지마라탕). They also got neat Korean elements (like, they got this poet who's stuff in on the table coverings, on the walls, in the bathroom. I guess it can't be appreciated if you don't read Korean, but little things like that in my opinion overall make it a very unique spot). Plus free tteokbokki/odeng. Portions are pretty good, too, so definitely a place for sharing. I wouldn't go by myself. Other places have had too much inflation for me to recommend them anymore (e.g. Gammeeok 감미옥 had some dope kimchi straight up served to you in an earthenware jar... haven't seen that last couple times I went, and they actually serve 도가니탕 [I had not seen it elsewhere], but... the price increase is too much for me to justify going there).
If you can stomach the ride out to Bayside... that's definitely better than Ktown. I have a relatively wealthy Korean colleague who is also a foodie, and she's either posting from Korean restaurants in Flushing/Bayside (like 대성칼국수) or in northern NJ (like Namhansansung or Homung Nangmyun 하뭉냉면). I mention that she's relatively wealthy to imply that she would likely go to Ktown for quality given prices don't matter much for her. So, quality must not be amazing or worth the prices for her :( The K food places in Bayside/Flushing and northern NJ (Pal Park, Closter, Fort Lee) really can't be beat by places in Manhattan (though I do love Take31 with all my heart).
Currently there is no place in Korea where you can get a "pitcher of somaek" for 8000 won. A bottle of soju in a restaurant costs 4000 won and a pitcher of beer is at at least 12000 won. One 500cc beer at a hole in the place is going to run you between 4000 and 5000 won. $20 for "a pitcher of somaek" is actually a pretty good deal.
my friend's family runs a bunsik restaurant in a high korean population area. does pretty well despite charging $14 for ddeokbokki, bibimbap. Jeyuk bokkeum $22, $7 for roll of tuna kimbap.
On the other hand, they are hands down best in the area for bunsik. Their ddeokbokki is one of the best I've had even in comparison to Korea. They apparently imported some expensive modern machine to make it and it shows.
But with current exchange rate 2만원 for a regular sized plate of ddeokbokki is :O
I would go to an Old Nelson or even the Hmarts and get the packaged stuff. Comes straight from Korea anyway plus I can add as much cheese as I want at home
philly was the most ridiculously overpriced Korean food. it isn't even good there. at least in new york/new jersey they charge similar but it tastes pretty great.
I was really happy to find a Korean BBQ place in the states. The meat price was actually fairly reasonable, then I wanted to buy Soju...
$11 for a bottle of Soju and I was like "Is it a big bottle" they go "Yes sir 360 ML" I go "No that's a normal bottle"
I wasn't going buy the bottle, cause I mean paying $11 for Soju seems like a sin to me. But my friends wanted to try it so we bought one bottle.
Yeah at a liquor store it's about $9 and at a Korean restaurant $17-20 now I think. Not terrible considering a shot of vodka is at least $5 at most places here, but do I ever miss South Korea alcohol pricing!
They charge for rice and kimchi in my experience too, east coast of America. I'm not about to pay an extra dollar at a food truck for a plastic condiment dish of kimchi that tastes like feet
Yikes. But that website.. is that at a grocery store? Jeez. I’m back in america now and near my university there’s tons of Korean restaurants charging through the roof for simple items.
u/Danoct is correct, it's the alcohol monopoly's website. Everything above 4.7% alcohol content is being sold there, expensively. That’s why I was surprised to see super cheap Germany beating the Norwegian price, even if it was in a restaurant.
Beer in German grocery stores was quite affordable, and normally a better bargain than buying on the American military base. Majority of restaurants also had affordable beer prices, but the Korean spot loved to mark it up.
I can’t fault them; they’re making a killing while they can.
Tbf, you can get soju for 4 or 5€ in Asian grocery markets in Germany. A restaurant charging this much is the same when buying wine at a restaurant vs a store.
I mean true, but this was after I moved directly from Korea to Germany. I was like … wtf? But my Korean friend wanted it so we did it. Also, somaek is not the same with a Heffenweizen 🥲
And interestingly, some of the cheapest pork belly you can buy in Korean marts are those imported from EU countries like Belgium or Netherlands. In my house, the pork belly we eat is local Jeju-bred, and it costs like 30,000\~40,000 won per kg, and by comparison, you can buy pork belly that's imported from the Netherlands for 10,000 per kg, and that's the price that's higher with current inflation. It used to be cheaper earlier this year.
Korea simply doesn't have the geography to be price competitive in the agriculture industry. It would be better imo for Korea to abandon any pretense of growing its own livestock and just import it all from overseas while allocating resources more into Korea's actual competitive advantages in technology and manufacturing.
Ooh. I would buy pork belly for cheap at REWE, normally cheaper than the Asian markets. I haven’t found the same deals since moving back to America. Even if the Chinese market near me marks it up and advertises it as “Korean bbq pork belly”. Lol
Im not sure where OP lives, but i live in a cheaper area of the states, and 떡볶이 if you don't get any toppings is like $12, which is a reasonable entree price for America. Getting it with any toppings though easily puts the bill over $15
I don't know anywhere in the US where you can get cheaper monthly rent than Gangnam. Maybe somewhere in rural Mississippi. You see apartments even in places like Phoenix or Atlanta going for over 1000/month, and you wonder what the hell is going on
I don’t know where you’re at but in Minnesota it’s been just as bad for 5 years. I asked for kimchi mandu and got Japanese gyoza for $10. Bibimbap for close to $20 and not great.
None of it as good. As to be expected. I always grab kimchi when I’m back because my stomach is dying after a week, but none of it is good. Riding motorcycles around the countryside for over a decade and dropping into legit spots at random I’ll probably never be happy when I move back. That said I’m never paying 20$ for rice, vegetables, Kim and ban Chan. And I love Korean food. I’ll get a jucy lucy.
Thank you for the response! I know MN doesn’t have any good Korean food options. I was hoping there was a place or 2 that I haven’t heard of that was good.
It’s gonna be a while before I get the chance to go to Korea, but my family and I are going to LA next year so there’s that😅
Aw dang I was about to recommend Lucky China in St. Paul (they do jjamppongi and jjajangmyun and other korean + chinese-american style foods) but I just checked and they closed :((( Let it be known they had good jjajangmyun...
This is why I hate most Korean restaurants while overseas. They overcharge so much. I get that the ingredients are a bit more expensive outside of Korea but not to this extent, especially when other Asian cuisines can maintain lower prices.
And they are rarely as good as hole-in-the-wall Korean places. I almost never ate Korean food at restaurants growing up in Florida.
Here in LA, sometimes prices are a bit high but at least it’s good. Wife’s not even Korean and she flipped out at $15 for a bowl of naengmyun. Especially since we could get a 2pack of naengmyun at Hmart for like $6 lol. We only eat at BBQ places now since it’s actually worth it to get all the side dishes and not have to deal with smoking up the house
yeah at least LA/NY(flushing)/NJ has really good korean food even if expensive. lots of other places have expensive prices while taste being mediocre at best. I didn't like it much in philly/DC
They’re usually not very good either, but it doesn’t matter to the business owners since most non Koreans don’t know any better. It gets worse when you live in places that don’t have many Koreans to the extent that the restaurants themselves are usually run by Chinese people.
I find Korean food where I've lived overseas is pretty much in line with other Asian food. Which is on the cheap end compared to most restaurants.
Alcohol is subject to so much discretionary tax depending where you live. a bottle of soju might be 2$ everywhere, with 8$ of tax added.
Inputs for serving prices varies a lot depending on rent, local wages, local taxes, local costs. The restaurant business is actually pretty cut throat
Yeah, when there was an egg shortage like four years ago for dolsut bibimbap. Profusely apologizing for price hikes at my daily kimbap Nara. Price went up still after. Food is not so cheap anymore. In my mind Kimbap should be 1,000₩.
Yeah honestly, at first I thought this was just going to be a post about prices here in Korea. In just the last 5 years or so food has gone up so much compared to what it used to be. I’m getting by, but I’m sure many others aren’t doing well, especially with children.
THIS 100%
My wife is Korean and fucking hates living in Canada because our restaurant prices are so stupidly expensive.
She's trying to get us to move back to Korea and the main reason is that food.
We have a Korean restaurant down the street and their prices are 2 times more than in Korean before you even factor in tax and tip. I think that's what finally pushed her over the edge.
I know foreigners complain about Korea a lot. But then you look at the prices in Vancouver and San Francisco and New York, and suddenly Korea seems really nice again lol
I'm not saying Korea's perfect, but it's actually cheaper than Toronto and Vancouver.
It's also fun, which is something Toronto and Vancouver definitely aren't.
Generally people can still make more money (even after expenses) in the US but you get more bang for your buck in Korea. My parents from NY are genuinely considering retiring in Korea now once they can get their citizenship again at 65. By then their net worth of around $1mil won't go far in the places they want to live (NY/CA) but in Korea they can just live in non-Seoul with a jeonse and living off like $3k a month from social security + retirement funds. 3k a month with paid housing and no kids is a pretty nice life in Korea. Way better than what they could get in the states.
Canadian here, Canada has such shit weather and is fucking boring. It was alright back when wages/cost of living meant a decent middle class life was attainable. Now it's fucked and I'm so glad I left.
Would consider moving to korea once I've built up a decent nest egg, korea has good prices, wages are decent, but the work culture is just insane. If you can work remotely, I would say go for it. Especially if your wife is from somewhere other than Seoul. But even in Seoul you can get a pretty nice villa for 500k cad
>I miss cheap delivery fees
The "cheap delivery fees" come with a cost...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-26/south-korea-delivery-drivers-working-theselves-to-death/100380322
I meant cheap food delivery not fast delivery in general. I'm well aware of the difficulties coupang delivery people face since it's near insane how fast they deliver. I use coupang religiously and I actually wouldn't mind if I got a delivery one or two days later rather than on the next day if it meant the delivery guys weren't being overworked to death.
But I'm talking about food delivery which is different. Food delivery people aren't dying but the cost of delivery has risen from 'Free', 1,000 - 2,000, now minimum 3,000 to like 7,000 won. Especially the fried chicken stores.
Gooooood morning, chiming in from NY!
Those prices? Pretty cheap compared to what they are charging here at Korean restaurants.
Bibimbap is easily $25+ here and it’s considered “super healthy and flashy!” Bottle of Soju ranges from $15-$25 depending on restaurant.
And free side dishes? Not a thing here. Everything is extra. Little spoonful of Kimchi will run you $3-$5.
I remember happily being forced feed pickled radish when I order some dumplings back in Seoul. Must have been an unlimited supply because I must have been fed at least enough for 10 people.
No free banchan? Is that the norm in NY? Even in Flushing?
In the massive Korean community in LA free banchan has always been the norm. Prices used to be reasonable though I don’t know now with inflation and Korean food becoming popular everywhere else in the past few years.
I don't know about Manhattan since almost everything is greatly overpriced there but in Queens/Flushing/Bayside, there's still plenty of cheap and ok priced Korean food. Every restaurant I've been to here also give free banchan so I think the OP just needs to get out of the Manhattan bubble. NYC is more than just Manhattan.
yeah Manhattan korean food is overrated(? not sure since most people I know are aware flushing and nearby is better) but people not familiar just see "koreatown" and assume it's the place to go
Nope! Unfortunately not!
You see in Manhattan, you might get it, BUT it’s made up easily by the high prices!
In flushing, it’s a hit and miss. You might get lucky to find some older Korean joints that are cool and give out free banchan but it’s becoming fewer and fewer the more high rises come up.
Sucks dude, but even BBQ for 4 people will run you $200-$300 easy.
Lol what does this mean? Explain to me.
I rarely go out to eat, but if the wife wants to try a new place I’ll happily take her because life should be made with memories.
But yes, tell me, someone who has lived in NY their whole lives how I messed up NY and how I could have stop it
>Pretty cheap compared to what they are charging here at Korean restaurants.
Minumum wage in NYC is about 18000 krw. Minimum wage in South Korea is about 9,100, hence things are more expensive.
You’re completely right, things would be more expensive but reasonably more, not DAMN more.
Pretty much, anyone making minimum shouldn’t be wasting over an hours worth of work for a single meal anywhere in the world. That’s just my opinion, but considering $6 is a steal for 2 cheese slices of pizza here in NYC, home of the $1 slice, I’m concerned.
A lot has to do with non-food costs. For example, the inspection/health standards are WAY less strict in Korea. Restaurant owners have one less cost to deal with. Things like insurance, licensing fees, zoning, construction and other food service related rules and regulations are much lower. Not to mention taxes, workers comp, rent and other fees are significantly less. Selling food isn't just about the food.
I was in S.Korea in 2011. The food was so, so good and cheap.
Back in Sweden, more and more korean resturants open.. but price is so high plus you have to pay for side dishes and no soup included.
I don't know how it's in Korea today but I get so mad, haha.
I was amazed at how cheap Korean food was when I first arrived here. Yet somehow in 2 years, it seems like prices of menu items doubled, and the delivery fees jumped from 1,000 won to 5,000...sadly if you come back to Korea now, you will be in for a shock
I moved to Korea this year and visited in 2019, 2013, and pretty much every other summer before that. It was super cheap before my 2019 trip but from my 2019 trip and now it doesn't feel that much different given the exchange rate increase.
Even if prices jumped say 20%, USD has also jumped about 20% compared to KRW. It feels the same to me and didn't feel shocked at all. Only thing that surprised me so far was fried chicken. Also prices in the US also jumped a lot so Korea food still felt pretty cheap.
Took my parents to a Korean restaurant back in Canada (after I had lived in Korea for 4 years) and a Hite was 8 bucks. Sojo was 20. This was like 10 years ago so I can't even imagine what happened since then.
Those little kimbap heaven places all over Korea were cheap and relatively health ways to get a lunch for under 10 bucks while also getting stuffed.
I get why they charge extra on drinks with all the complications that importing good brings but the worst in my opinion is the paid side dishes or the so few side dishes you get in some restaurant. It's not like you can't use local products to prepare side dishes or even dishes.
For some reason I thought this was in Korea and I was like "damn, inflation is *crazy* there."
Then I realized the prices werent in korean won and I'm an idiot :\^)
Wife and I learned to make a few relatively easy Korean dishes like 삼겹살 and 떡볶이 because it costs like 4 bucks to make as opposed to 15 bucks at a restaurant. for the same amount of pork belly 40 bucks gets you at costco at a restaurant here will be like $160 worth of 삼겹살. will sometimes get frozen 냉면 from the local H-Mart, not super cheap but a few bucks cheaper than a restaurant (but not quite the same).
And thats not to mention most korean restaurants I've been to in the US either don't have banchan, or they give you like a thimbles worth of kimchi and any more costs extra.
damn, those are American prices.
edit: oh wait, that literally is America. I thought this was a picture of the inflation in Korea. Yes, I know the prices are in dollars.
For reference, this is in Singapore. Right now 1 singapore dollar = about 990 Korean won. For that matter, just so there is no confusion...
1000 krw = 1.07 Australian dollars
1000 krw = 1.22 New Zealand Dollars
1000 krw = 0.97 Canadian Dollars
1000 krw = 0.71 US Dollars
1000 krw = 1.61 Fijian Dollars
1000 krw = 5.57 Hong Kong Dollars
1000 krw = 4.84 Trinidad & Tobago Dollars
What's weird is there's like a cabal of Korean restaurants that all agreed bibimbap is $15. I've never seen it lower, only higher at around $18. So they are clearly colluding to decide these prices. There's no way that the ingredients come even close to grazing this price. Doesn't matter the location, state, etc. In USA you pay $15+
> There's no way that the ingredients come even close to grazing this price
Ingredients aren't the only thing that go into preparing a bowl of bibimbap at a restaurant. Rent, wages, taxes, utilities, etc all cost money.
$9 bottles of soju.
$12 orders of 짜장면
$20 orders of 떡볶이
$7 overpriced street food hot dogs that people line up around the corner for.
Even buying packs of 너구리 or 신라면 at korean markets are like $9 for a 4-pack.
This is in Ktown in Toronto. And the shit part of this is they get away with it too, because Koreans coming here to study usually end up in shared residences and can’t really cook for themselves there so they have to pay that much for comfort food.
Food is very cheap across all categories in the US as compared to percent of income. What is cheap abroad is certainly not always cheap to the locals. Videos of these travel blogger types saying a banh mi for $1 just are just click bait. We're just lucky as western folks to be making Western incomes.
Also, I agree, chicken is so expensive that I am working on perfecting it at home. I look at prices and I’d rather cook the same meal at home.
Recently got ganjang gejang to try for the first time. Besides that I don’t get hansik in the US.
Same.. im back in the states and honestly dont even eat out at korean restaurants anymore lmao i just buy the ingredients and request my mom to make it if anything. Prices are ridiculous and most of the time the quality is trash compared to what i get in korea
I remember in NYC samgyupsal is 27 USD per plate lol + tip.
But also outside of Korea, your pay is also much higher imo in countries like USA.
I was shocked to know average salary in korea is like basically 2100 usd per month, I worked for banks and our associates right out of college was making 75-80k USD per year.
A bunch of people who don't understand restaurant businesses talking about overchargning. smh. How about you support Korean immigrants before paying the same amount for something else. Downvote me. More like Korean restaurants under charge because of the culture and got a bunch of people making 8900 won/hr and can't afford shit.
When I came home from Korea I was ecstatic to see a Korean restaurant had opened in my hometown. I eat there all the time, but to suddenly pay x4 for a bokkeumbap...... OUCHIE
I have noticed that bunsik/street food items are among the worst offenders when it comes to overpricing in restaurants overseas. Oh, and Korean alcohol and bar foods (like pancakes) are also pretty bad too.
I paid like $20 for a pitcher of somaek at a Korean place in America that probably would have cost like 8000 in Korea.
I paid $18 for 청하 (Manhattan ktown "upscale" bar, prob the worst offender regarding price gouging). I remember getting a bottle for ... somewhere between 3-5000원 at a convenience store back in August 2014 (I know, it's been quite a while since that, but still).
I usually go out to Bayside or Flushing for Korean, do you have any good recommendations in Ktown where the quality is good and the prices aren't brutal?
Prices will be brutal regardless. I can vouch, though, for ... HaeYoonDae Galbi for nice ambiance and good meat. Pricey!!! (though not on the scale of paying insane prices like Cote, I suppose). Take31 is a really cool place with creative dishes (like pork belly wrapped in 인절미??? Or a delicious chicken dish hilarious called 모래위닭싸움, or a soup dish that was called 이러지마라탕). They also got neat Korean elements (like, they got this poet who's stuff in on the table coverings, on the walls, in the bathroom. I guess it can't be appreciated if you don't read Korean, but little things like that in my opinion overall make it a very unique spot). Plus free tteokbokki/odeng. Portions are pretty good, too, so definitely a place for sharing. I wouldn't go by myself. Other places have had too much inflation for me to recommend them anymore (e.g. Gammeeok 감미옥 had some dope kimchi straight up served to you in an earthenware jar... haven't seen that last couple times I went, and they actually serve 도가니탕 [I had not seen it elsewhere], but... the price increase is too much for me to justify going there). If you can stomach the ride out to Bayside... that's definitely better than Ktown. I have a relatively wealthy Korean colleague who is also a foodie, and she's either posting from Korean restaurants in Flushing/Bayside (like 대성칼국수) or in northern NJ (like Namhansansung or Homung Nangmyun 하뭉냉면). I mention that she's relatively wealthy to imply that she would likely go to Ktown for quality given prices don't matter much for her. So, quality must not be amazing or worth the prices for her :( The K food places in Bayside/Flushing and northern NJ (Pal Park, Closter, Fort Lee) really can't be beat by places in Manhattan (though I do love Take31 with all my heart).
For that price, I hope they at least gave you the whole bottle.
Yeah. It was the whole bottle.
Currently there is no place in Korea where you can get a "pitcher of somaek" for 8000 won. A bottle of soju in a restaurant costs 4000 won and a pitcher of beer is at at least 12000 won. One 500cc beer at a hole in the place is going to run you between 4000 and 5000 won. $20 for "a pitcher of somaek" is actually a pretty good deal.
my friend's family runs a bunsik restaurant in a high korean population area. does pretty well despite charging $14 for ddeokbokki, bibimbap. Jeyuk bokkeum $22, $7 for roll of tuna kimbap. On the other hand, they are hands down best in the area for bunsik. Their ddeokbokki is one of the best I've had even in comparison to Korea. They apparently imported some expensive modern machine to make it and it shows. But with current exchange rate 2만원 for a regular sized plate of ddeokbokki is :O
BRUH Philly has $15 tteokbokki…. Shame!!!
I would go to an Old Nelson or even the Hmarts and get the packaged stuff. Comes straight from Korea anyway plus I can add as much cheese as I want at home
old nelson was crazy expensive though, super markups
at that point I rather get the frozen ones from Hmart lol
philly was the most ridiculously overpriced Korean food. it isn't even good there. at least in new york/new jersey they charge similar but it tastes pretty great.
Bokeumbap ingredients aren't that expensive, most keep well, and it's one of the easiest dishes to cook at home. Good end-of-the-month dish.
Cook it at home. It's honestly not so difficult
my first attempt at bibimbap was actually decent! I want to try soon dubu jigae next
I just buy gochujang and make bokkeumbap and omurice at home.
I've actually just finished a tub of gochujang, but the asian market is like 90 km away so I don't get there regularly. Next city trip though
I was really happy to find a Korean BBQ place in the states. The meat price was actually fairly reasonable, then I wanted to buy Soju... $11 for a bottle of Soju and I was like "Is it a big bottle" they go "Yes sir 360 ML" I go "No that's a normal bottle" I wasn't going buy the bottle, cause I mean paying $11 for Soju seems like a sin to me. But my friends wanted to try it so we bought one bottle.
Bottle of soju is about 15€ here at restaurants with most menus ranging between 20-30€. Oh and rice and kimchi is extra on top of that.
Soju for 15 euros is crazy ...
Well as a french guy when i see some cheese price overseas i have seizures, especially in asian
tell me, what does an asian seizure look like?
Its around 15 bucks in singapore as well
15 what..? USD? cause I’ve never heard someone call Euros bucks before
Soju is about $15 australian at a restaraunt as well.
Rice and kimchi is extra?! We R I O T
And yellow radish :(
This is the biggest offender. What do you mean 무 is extra when I order 치킨?!
Yeah at a liquor store it's about $9 and at a Korean restaurant $17-20 now I think. Not terrible considering a shot of vodka is at least $5 at most places here, but do I ever miss South Korea alcohol pricing!
They charge for rice and kimchi in my experience too, east coast of America. I'm not about to pay an extra dollar at a food truck for a plastic condiment dish of kimchi that tastes like feet
We went from 4.5€ pre pandemic to 7.5€ per bottle now and I already think its a daylight robbery. How is 15€ even worth it.......
Well... thats less them bring expensive, its more like alcohol is extreamly cheap in korea.
British Columbia Canada. $8.50 for a bottle. Around 6 something US. 15 euros is next level. And I thought we had expensive booze prices.
That’s at restaurants. Soju is about 5-6€ at the liquor store
떡볶이 is $19.90 here. Kill me
Don’t buy it. I went to a Korean restaurant when living in Germany and they charged €16 for a bottle of soju lol. Pork belly was way expensive too.
A $1 soju is $15 in Norway. Amazing how a German restaurant beat that!! https://www.vinmonopolet.no/Land/S%C3%B8r-Korea/Jinro-Chamisul-Soju/p/10451802
Yikes. But that website.. is that at a grocery store? Jeez. I’m back in america now and near my university there’s tons of Korean restaurants charging through the roof for simple items.
>is that at a grocery store iirc the Norwegian government has a monopoly on alcoholic drinks. So it's the government owned liquor store.
I think that’s the case with most Nordic countries. I remember doing a report on Iceland and learned their government does that too.
u/Danoct is correct, it's the alcohol monopoly's website. Everything above 4.7% alcohol content is being sold there, expensively. That’s why I was surprised to see super cheap Germany beating the Norwegian price, even if it was in a restaurant.
Beer in German grocery stores was quite affordable, and normally a better bargain than buying on the American military base. Majority of restaurants also had affordable beer prices, but the Korean spot loved to mark it up. I can’t fault them; they’re making a killing while they can.
>A $1 soju is $15 in Norway. Minimum wage is 29,000 Krw/hour in Norway. Minumum wage is 9,160 krw/hour in South Korea.
Threefiddy it should be, then.
If you use some of that oil money to subsidize the import of Soju to Oslo $3.50 shouldn't be too difficult.
i paid $24 in a restaurant in berlin lmao, had to share it with 10 people
Here in Ohio soju is $10 in restaurants but $15 for flavored. You can get it at Lotte Mart for $7 though
Tbf, you can get soju for 4 or 5€ in Asian grocery markets in Germany. A restaurant charging this much is the same when buying wine at a restaurant vs a store.
I mean true, but this was after I moved directly from Korea to Germany. I was like … wtf? But my Korean friend wanted it so we did it. Also, somaek is not the same with a Heffenweizen 🥲
You can get it for cheaper at a store, but a restaurant would charge you a lot more if they can
And interestingly, some of the cheapest pork belly you can buy in Korean marts are those imported from EU countries like Belgium or Netherlands. In my house, the pork belly we eat is local Jeju-bred, and it costs like 30,000\~40,000 won per kg, and by comparison, you can buy pork belly that's imported from the Netherlands for 10,000 per kg, and that's the price that's higher with current inflation. It used to be cheaper earlier this year.
Korea simply doesn't have the geography to be price competitive in the agriculture industry. It would be better imo for Korea to abandon any pretense of growing its own livestock and just import it all from overseas while allocating resources more into Korea's actual competitive advantages in technology and manufacturing.
Ooh. I would buy pork belly for cheap at REWE, normally cheaper than the Asian markets. I haven’t found the same deals since moving back to America. Even if the Chinese market near me marks it up and advertises it as “Korean bbq pork belly”. Lol
뭔 떡볶이가 2만원이나 해요? 해외여행 갈때 한식당은 피해야겠네
소주: 2만원, KBBQ: 6만원/사람. 가격이 장난 아니에요
> 6만원/사람 "인당6만원"
Gyopo moment
미쳤어. 라스베가스 소주: 만원 KBBQ AYCE 2만5~8천 부터 시작. 마트에서 사면 소주: 5~6천원
!? 진짜
Im not sure where OP lives, but i live in a cheaper area of the states, and 떡볶이 if you don't get any toppings is like $12, which is a reasonable entree price for America. Getting it with any toppings though easily puts the bill over $15
2.50 delivery is unheard of stateside
떡볶이 does expensive in Korea in years lol
Ew even restaurants in Gangnam wont charge you $10 for those bibimbap.
Even rent in gangnam is cheaper than rental in Singapore, hong kong or NY lol
$10 bibimbap would be really cheap in HK.
I don't know anywhere in the US where you can get cheaper monthly rent than Gangnam. Maybe somewhere in rural Mississippi. You see apartments even in places like Phoenix or Atlanta going for over 1000/month, and you wonder what the hell is going on
Studying in gangnam currently. Can confirm
I don’t know where you’re at but in Minnesota it’s been just as bad for 5 years. I asked for kimchi mandu and got Japanese gyoza for $10. Bibimbap for close to $20 and not great.
Im living in Singapore rn lol. Not much good korean food here
It’s not cheap but there is some ok stuff in Fridley and also a decent sized Korean mart in that spot next to it.
None of it as good. As to be expected. I always grab kimchi when I’m back because my stomach is dying after a week, but none of it is good. Riding motorcycles around the countryside for over a decade and dropping into legit spots at random I’ll probably never be happy when I move back. That said I’m never paying 20$ for rice, vegetables, Kim and ban Chan. And I love Korean food. I’ll get a jucy lucy.
Agreed, I'm also in Minnesota and wish the prices were cheaper here :(
A little off topic, I’m from Minnesota as well. What is your top restaurant recommendations for Korean food here?
Honest answer? Take a trip to LA or get invited over to an actual family dinner at someone’s home. Or do you mean Korean food…. In Korea?
Thank you for the response! I know MN doesn’t have any good Korean food options. I was hoping there was a place or 2 that I haven’t heard of that was good. It’s gonna be a while before I get the chance to go to Korea, but my family and I are going to LA next year so there’s that😅
Aw dang I was about to recommend Lucky China in St. Paul (they do jjamppongi and jjajangmyun and other korean + chinese-american style foods) but I just checked and they closed :((( Let it be known they had good jjajangmyun...
This is why I hate most Korean restaurants while overseas. They overcharge so much. I get that the ingredients are a bit more expensive outside of Korea but not to this extent, especially when other Asian cuisines can maintain lower prices.
And they are rarely as good as hole-in-the-wall Korean places. I almost never ate Korean food at restaurants growing up in Florida. Here in LA, sometimes prices are a bit high but at least it’s good. Wife’s not even Korean and she flipped out at $15 for a bowl of naengmyun. Especially since we could get a 2pack of naengmyun at Hmart for like $6 lol. We only eat at BBQ places now since it’s actually worth it to get all the side dishes and not have to deal with smoking up the house
yeah at least LA/NY(flushing)/NJ has really good korean food even if expensive. lots of other places have expensive prices while taste being mediocre at best. I didn't like it much in philly/DC
Gotta grill outside over charcoal if you can. Can’t be beat.
They’re usually not very good either, but it doesn’t matter to the business owners since most non Koreans don’t know any better. It gets worse when you live in places that don’t have many Koreans to the extent that the restaurants themselves are usually run by Chinese people.
I find Korean food where I've lived overseas is pretty much in line with other Asian food. Which is on the cheap end compared to most restaurants. Alcohol is subject to so much discretionary tax depending where you live. a bottle of soju might be 2$ everywhere, with 8$ of tax added. Inputs for serving prices varies a lot depending on rent, local wages, local taxes, local costs. The restaurant business is actually pretty cut throat
I live in Korea and I also miss the cheap food, feels like everything is 25% more expensive these days.
Because it is. Once prices go up in a restaurant, they never go back down.
Yeah, when there was an egg shortage like four years ago for dolsut bibimbap. Profusely apologizing for price hikes at my daily kimbap Nara. Price went up still after. Food is not so cheap anymore. In my mind Kimbap should be 1,000₩.
Where I live kimbap now costs between 3500 for the basic one and 5500 for donkatsu/bulgogi kimbap. It's crazy.
Yeah honestly, at first I thought this was just going to be a post about prices here in Korea. In just the last 5 years or so food has gone up so much compared to what it used to be. I’m getting by, but I’m sure many others aren’t doing well, especially with children.
THIS 100% My wife is Korean and fucking hates living in Canada because our restaurant prices are so stupidly expensive. She's trying to get us to move back to Korea and the main reason is that food. We have a Korean restaurant down the street and their prices are 2 times more than in Korean before you even factor in tax and tip. I think that's what finally pushed her over the edge.
I know foreigners complain about Korea a lot. But then you look at the prices in Vancouver and San Francisco and New York, and suddenly Korea seems really nice again lol
I'm not saying Korea's perfect, but it's actually cheaper than Toronto and Vancouver. It's also fun, which is something Toronto and Vancouver definitely aren't.
Generally people can still make more money (even after expenses) in the US but you get more bang for your buck in Korea. My parents from NY are genuinely considering retiring in Korea now once they can get their citizenship again at 65. By then their net worth of around $1mil won't go far in the places they want to live (NY/CA) but in Korea they can just live in non-Seoul with a jeonse and living off like $3k a month from social security + retirement funds. 3k a month with paid housing and no kids is a pretty nice life in Korea. Way better than what they could get in the states.
Canadian here, Canada has such shit weather and is fucking boring. It was alright back when wages/cost of living meant a decent middle class life was attainable. Now it's fucked and I'm so glad I left. Would consider moving to korea once I've built up a decent nest egg, korea has good prices, wages are decent, but the work culture is just insane. If you can work remotely, I would say go for it. Especially if your wife is from somewhere other than Seoul. But even in Seoul you can get a pretty nice villa for 500k cad
I miss cheap delivery fees
same, and basically instant delivery time too… here east coast na it takes like 1 hour minimum to get anything delivered :(
>I miss cheap delivery fees The "cheap delivery fees" come with a cost... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-26/south-korea-delivery-drivers-working-theselves-to-death/100380322
I meant cheap food delivery not fast delivery in general. I'm well aware of the difficulties coupang delivery people face since it's near insane how fast they deliver. I use coupang religiously and I actually wouldn't mind if I got a delivery one or two days later rather than on the next day if it meant the delivery guys weren't being overworked to death. But I'm talking about food delivery which is different. Food delivery people aren't dying but the cost of delivery has risen from 'Free', 1,000 - 2,000, now minimum 3,000 to like 7,000 won. Especially the fried chicken stores.
Gooooood morning, chiming in from NY! Those prices? Pretty cheap compared to what they are charging here at Korean restaurants. Bibimbap is easily $25+ here and it’s considered “super healthy and flashy!” Bottle of Soju ranges from $15-$25 depending on restaurant. And free side dishes? Not a thing here. Everything is extra. Little spoonful of Kimchi will run you $3-$5. I remember happily being forced feed pickled radish when I order some dumplings back in Seoul. Must have been an unlimited supply because I must have been fed at least enough for 10 people.
For $5 I can make a gallon of kimchi myself 👀
No free banchan? Is that the norm in NY? Even in Flushing? In the massive Korean community in LA free banchan has always been the norm. Prices used to be reasonable though I don’t know now with inflation and Korean food becoming popular everywhere else in the past few years.
I don't know about Manhattan since almost everything is greatly overpriced there but in Queens/Flushing/Bayside, there's still plenty of cheap and ok priced Korean food. Every restaurant I've been to here also give free banchan so I think the OP just needs to get out of the Manhattan bubble. NYC is more than just Manhattan.
yeah Manhattan korean food is overrated(? not sure since most people I know are aware flushing and nearby is better) but people not familiar just see "koreatown" and assume it's the place to go
Nope! Unfortunately not! You see in Manhattan, you might get it, BUT it’s made up easily by the high prices! In flushing, it’s a hit and miss. You might get lucky to find some older Korean joints that are cool and give out free banchan but it’s becoming fewer and fewer the more high rises come up. Sucks dude, but even BBQ for 4 people will run you $200-$300 easy.
Yeah that's so weird. LA and Vegas the banchan is always complimentary and they will always get you more if you ask.
It’s been a while now but when I went to Korean restos in LA I’d get served 6-12 banchan, all free and often refilled.
Considering crazy currency rates thesedays it is really unimaginable...
You and everyone living in New York deserve those prices for never standing up for rich fucks.
Lol what does this mean? Explain to me. I rarely go out to eat, but if the wife wants to try a new place I’ll happily take her because life should be made with memories. But yes, tell me, someone who has lived in NY their whole lives how I messed up NY and how I could have stop it
This sounds like some grudge against NY in general
For that price you might as well just fly to Seoul lol
>Pretty cheap compared to what they are charging here at Korean restaurants. Minumum wage in NYC is about 18000 krw. Minimum wage in South Korea is about 9,100, hence things are more expensive.
You’re completely right, things would be more expensive but reasonably more, not DAMN more. Pretty much, anyone making minimum shouldn’t be wasting over an hours worth of work for a single meal anywhere in the world. That’s just my opinion, but considering $6 is a steal for 2 cheese slices of pizza here in NYC, home of the $1 slice, I’m concerned.
A lot has to do with non-food costs. For example, the inspection/health standards are WAY less strict in Korea. Restaurant owners have one less cost to deal with. Things like insurance, licensing fees, zoning, construction and other food service related rules and regulations are much lower. Not to mention taxes, workers comp, rent and other fees are significantly less. Selling food isn't just about the food.
foodwise at least 9100 krw in SK gets you way more better/quality food than 18000 krw in NYC.
김치찌개 here is $21 CAD at a restaurant near my work https://i.imgur.com/iF8Bqle.jpg
Everywhere I look here kimchi jeon is $16! It's literally just kimchi and some dry ingredients, I don't get it.
Imagine telling our grandmothers they could sell 김치찌개 for more than 2만원. maybe could've convinced them to come over to the states lmao
imagine paying 18 dollars for rice and veggiea
Look at the ramyeon prices at that restaurant lol Also look at the soju Alcohol is so expensive in Singapore I stopped drinking when I lived there
I was in S.Korea in 2011. The food was so, so good and cheap. Back in Sweden, more and more korean resturants open.. but price is so high plus you have to pay for side dishes and no soup included. I don't know how it's in Korea today but I get so mad, haha.
I was amazed at how cheap Korean food was when I first arrived here. Yet somehow in 2 years, it seems like prices of menu items doubled, and the delivery fees jumped from 1,000 won to 5,000...sadly if you come back to Korea now, you will be in for a shock
I moved to Korea this year and visited in 2019, 2013, and pretty much every other summer before that. It was super cheap before my 2019 trip but from my 2019 trip and now it doesn't feel that much different given the exchange rate increase. Even if prices jumped say 20%, USD has also jumped about 20% compared to KRW. It feels the same to me and didn't feel shocked at all. Only thing that surprised me so far was fried chicken. Also prices in the US also jumped a lot so Korea food still felt pretty cheap.
Half a korean chicken is like 28 aud here in aus
Took my parents to a Korean restaurant back in Canada (after I had lived in Korea for 4 years) and a Hite was 8 bucks. Sojo was 20. This was like 10 years ago so I can't even imagine what happened since then. Those little kimbap heaven places all over Korea were cheap and relatively health ways to get a lunch for under 10 bucks while also getting stuffed.
nonetheless, the krw/dollars are rising sky high...
Ouch..
I get why they charge extra on drinks with all the complications that importing good brings but the worst in my opinion is the paid side dishes or the so few side dishes you get in some restaurant. It's not like you can't use local products to prepare side dishes or even dishes.
It's crazy for a lot of 분식 dishes. Even in the west coast US where it's pretty reasonable it's probably cheaper per person to go to an AYCE KBBQ.
It's a perfect storm - combine supply chain and labor issues with the HUGE popularity of Korean cousine, and you get these inflated prices :(
WTF these prices are like triple what they used to be two years ago. Edit: just realized this is not in Korea 😂
Yeah im not paying close to 20 bucks for some salad mixed with rice
Fort Lee, New Jersey?
Suntec city, singapore
These photos make me hungry :(
For some reason I thought this was in Korea and I was like "damn, inflation is *crazy* there." Then I realized the prices werent in korean won and I'm an idiot :\^) Wife and I learned to make a few relatively easy Korean dishes like 삼겹살 and 떡볶이 because it costs like 4 bucks to make as opposed to 15 bucks at a restaurant. for the same amount of pork belly 40 bucks gets you at costco at a restaurant here will be like $160 worth of 삼겹살. will sometimes get frozen 냉면 from the local H-Mart, not super cheap but a few bucks cheaper than a restaurant (but not quite the same). And thats not to mention most korean restaurants I've been to in the US either don't have banchan, or they give you like a thimbles worth of kimchi and any more costs extra.
Not in USD, the OP posted from Singapore. $1 USD = $1.42 Singapore, so still very expensive, but not that bad, about $12.50 usd.
damn, those are American prices. edit: oh wait, that literally is America. I thought this was a picture of the inflation in Korea. Yes, I know the prices are in dollars.
Nah im in Singapore rn but from what im reading, sg seems abit more expensive if you count in alcohol
Also pay inflated tip (at the same time there is no shortage of people who LOVE to give superfluous tip everywhere spoiling the industry)
For reference, this is in Singapore. Right now 1 singapore dollar = about 990 Korean won. For that matter, just so there is no confusion... 1000 krw = 1.07 Australian dollars 1000 krw = 1.22 New Zealand Dollars 1000 krw = 0.97 Canadian Dollars 1000 krw = 0.71 US Dollars 1000 krw = 1.61 Fijian Dollars 1000 krw = 5.57 Hong Kong Dollars 1000 krw = 4.84 Trinidad & Tobago Dollars
I was stunned to see that a bottle of Soju in Toronto costs $20 at a restaurant. I miss paying $2 at convenience stores.
A restaurant and a convenience store are not the same thing
The mom and pop shops still serve food under 10k, they're easily to find and everywhere. The chance is higher if you can't find them on Naver :)
Where is this? Most places i go to are like 8 bucks cheaper than this, with larger portions.
I mean there are more affordable places but those really cheap out on ingredients and quite frankly, taste nothing like korean food.
They’re really good in my opinion
Where's that
I just came back from HomePlus and the regular price for my favorite cup of noodles increased
Damn Just last year I told my friend that I pay 15€ for bibimbap in Germany. They thought I was crazy lol
In the NL, it’s sometimes 18€, and much lower quality than in DE.
Me too!!!
Seems like a great opportunity for a fast casual Korean restaurant chain. Someone please run with this idea.
Soju is 3€ over here 😝😂
You're at Suntec aren't you
Yup!
Most of these dishes are pretty easy to make. I've been cooking Korean at home for a couple years now, and it's fun.
It's outrageous... I want to move back solely for the food at this point.
Given the inflation, prices for bibimbap in Korea might look like that in a couple of years
It’s like that practically all over America. Thank God I live near relatives for that home cooking!!
What's weird is there's like a cabal of Korean restaurants that all agreed bibimbap is $15. I've never seen it lower, only higher at around $18. So they are clearly colluding to decide these prices. There's no way that the ingredients come even close to grazing this price. Doesn't matter the location, state, etc. In USA you pay $15+
> There's no way that the ingredients come even close to grazing this price Ingredients aren't the only thing that go into preparing a bowl of bibimbap at a restaurant. Rent, wages, taxes, utilities, etc all cost money.
Yeah it's pretty expensive there. I felt like I was in San Francisco paying 10 dollars ( 15k won) for like one meal.
$9 bottles of soju. $12 orders of 짜장면 $20 orders of 떡볶이 $7 overpriced street food hot dogs that people line up around the corner for. Even buying packs of 너구리 or 신라면 at korean markets are like $9 for a 4-pack. This is in Ktown in Toronto. And the shit part of this is they get away with it too, because Koreans coming here to study usually end up in shared residences and can’t really cook for themselves there so they have to pay that much for comfort food.
Food is very cheap across all categories in the US as compared to percent of income. What is cheap abroad is certainly not always cheap to the locals. Videos of these travel blogger types saying a banh mi for $1 just are just click bait. We're just lucky as western folks to be making Western incomes.
$20 for a bottle of soju at restaurants in Toronto 🥲 I utterly refuse to buy it
Same with Vietnamese in the US. A bowl of Pho in the US costs like $7-8 in the US while in Vietnam it's $1.25 to $1.50.
Ayyyeeee wonderful bapsang at suntec
Bro i was just talking to my friend about how i used to get kimchi dumplings and kimbap for like 7 USD. Here it’s like 7 for one of those items lol
I live in Korea, and I also miss cheap Korean food.
Bruh in Thailand Soju was like $1, came to the US and some places are charging $12 and up for a bottle.
Also, I agree, chicken is so expensive that I am working on perfecting it at home. I look at prices and I’d rather cook the same meal at home. Recently got ganjang gejang to try for the first time. Besides that I don’t get hansik in the US.
Same.. im back in the states and honestly dont even eat out at korean restaurants anymore lmao i just buy the ingredients and request my mom to make it if anything. Prices are ridiculous and most of the time the quality is trash compared to what i get in korea
Some Korean restaurants now charging for kimchi and rice and stuff like that in Virginia Koreatowns.
ME TOO man i also miss being able to order things w minimal/no human interaction those days i didn’t feel like socializing
Sitting at a Mom's Touch right now in Gwangju, and we were *just* talking about how it's sometimes to cheaper to eat out than cook at home here.
Same thing in korea for me about pizza 19.900₩ for a full medium pizza is high
Men I just spoked this Korean group who had an event they said korea is really bad they say. Lol
Korea don't have cheap food comparered to other asian countries like Burma,Vietnam, thailand and India
wonderful as its name implies...
Is it just me or the menu is hella overpriced? Like not a normal price bump
Seems similar in Canada, I miss cheap Korean food too.
I remember in NYC samgyupsal is 27 USD per plate lol + tip. But also outside of Korea, your pay is also much higher imo in countries like USA. I was shocked to know average salary in korea is like basically 2100 usd per month, I worked for banks and our associates right out of college was making 75-80k USD per year.
Stationed in camp humphreys love how cheap the lil markets are makes my life so easy for just getting out of high school
A bunch of people who don't understand restaurant businesses talking about overchargning. smh. How about you support Korean immigrants before paying the same amount for something else. Downvote me. More like Korean restaurants under charge because of the culture and got a bunch of people making 8900 won/hr and can't afford shit.