Boknal gets pricier as chicken prices hit 15-year high

The mercury isn’t the only thing on the rise during Korea's hot summer — so is the price of the nation’s favorite summer-season stamina food.

Chicken prices have surged to a 15-year high ahead of boknal, the three hottest days of summer when demand for samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) spikes. For this year, these dates on the lunar calendar correspond to July 15, July 25 and Aug. 14.

As the dates draw closer, retailers are scrambling to secure chicken supplies while expanding their lineup of nonchicken seasonal stamina foods.

The nationwide average retail price of a broiler chicken stood at 6,347 won per kilogram ($1.89 per pound) as of Monday, according to the livestock market information service operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. That was about 9.3 percent higher than the seasonal average of 5,805 won.

June's monthly average reached 6,596 won, the highest level since April 2011, when it stood at 6,911 won.

The sharp increase is largely due to last winter's highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. Between November of last year and early March, authorities culled about 440,000 breeding chickens, roughly five percent of the country's breeding stock of 8.2 million birds, according to the ministry.

"Korea sees avian influenza outbreaks every year, but last winter's outbreak was particularly severe because more migratory birds entered the country and changes to broiler chicken culling measures resulted in heavier losses than the previous year," said Choi Kang-seuk, a professor at Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "Chickens are also highly vulnerable to extreme heat because they have a limited ability to regulate their body temperature.”

The FIFA World Cup 2026 has added to the pressure by driving up demand for fried chicken during Korea's matches, with the dish a longtime favorite of football fans watching the games.

Chicken orders placed through Baedal Minjok, also known as Baemin, during Korea’s World Cup opener against the Czech Republic jumped 875.7 percent during morning hours on June 12 compared to the same period a week earlier, according to Woowa Brothers, the food delivery platform's operator.

Major retailers are already grappling with shrinking chicken supplies.

Lotte Mart said its broiler chicken supply this month has decreased about 3 to 5 percent from a year earlier. Emart expects retail chicken prices to rise 15 to 20 percent on year in July and August due to supply shortages.

Both retailers said they had secured supplies through advance contracts ahead of boknal to help minimize price increases for consumers and would continue to closely monitor supply conditions.

Retailers are also expanding their boknal offerings beyond traditional favorites such as samgyetang and fried chicken by adding other stamina foods, including fish and seafood. 

Ahead of the season, Emart launched a new "Wando abalone" series for its Peacock private labeled products as part of its home meal replacement lineup. Lotte Mart has introduced new fish dishes, including whole-grilled eel and frozen loach soup, for its home meal replacement products.

"Sales of eel sushi and eel rice bowls rose 223.3 percent in the period between June 1 and Sunday when compared to the same period a year earlier," a Lotte Mart source said. "While securing a stable supply of chicken remains our top priority, we are also expanding our range of nonchicken health foods to give consumers more options."

Convenience store chains are taking a similar approach by offering more nonchicken boknal meals.

CU, operated by BGF Retail, plans to introduce nine seasonal health food products this year, including a whole-eel meal and smoked duck with pumpkin.

At GS25, health foods other than samgyetang accounted for 61.2 percent of boknal season sales last year, up about 30 percentage points from 2023 and overtaking samgyetang for the first time, according to operator GS Retail.

"As consumer preferences become more diverse and chicken supplies remain unstable, we are expanding our lineup of health food meals priced below 10,000 won, including galbitang (beef bone soup) and eel rice bowls," a GS Retail representative said.

BY NOH YU-RIM [[email protected]]