South Korea’s Lunar New Year holiday compresses a season’s worth of household grocery spending into a single shopping sprint, making the cost of the traditional ancestral table a closely watched proxy for food inflation. This year’s numbers point to mild relief—driven largely by cheaper produce—rather than a clear turning point.
A survey by Korea Price Information found that the cost of preparing a four-person holiday table averaged about $205 at traditional markets, down 1.98% from a year earlier. At large discount retailers, the same basket cost roughly $282, a decline of 0.64%. The spread highlights the continued role of street markets as a pricing benchmark during peak holiday demand.
The easing was led by fruits and vegetables, which are central to the holiday spread and highly sensitive to supply swings. At traditional markets, the price of three Singo pears fell to $12 from $18 a year earlier, a 33.33% drop. Jujubes declined 25% to $4 for 400 grams. Radishes slipped 25% to $2 each, while napa cabbage fell 14.29% to $4. Prices at large retailers also moved lower, with napa cabbage down 10.59% to $4.2. Green onions declined 16.67% to $1 per bundle.
Those declines helped offset increases in other categories, underscoring the uneven nature of food-price pressures. Apple prices were flat at traditional markets, with three Fuji apples holding at $12, but rose 3.34% at large retailers to $18.
Seafood costs climbed more sharply as higher import prices filtered through. Three medium-sized yellow croakers imported from China rose 25% to $10 at traditional markets, while frozen pollock fillets increased 6.71% to $11 at large stores.
Rice-related products also moved higher as earlier gains in grain prices were passed on to consumers. Sliced rice cakes for soup rose 16.67% to $4.8 per kilogram at traditional markets, and steamed rice cakes jumped 30% to $9.
Egg prices held steady at about $2 for 10 at traditional markets, but rose 4.57% at large retailers to around $3. Beef prices were broadly unchanged, hovering near $23 for 600 grams.
Taken together, the figures suggest holiday grocery costs have stabilized, helped by a pullback in produce prices, while imported and processed items remain exposed to exchange-rate and input-cost pressures. For South Korea, the Lunar New Year table is signaling a pause in food inflation—one that could prove fragile if weather disruptions or currency swings return in the months ahead.
