Packages of microwavable instant rice are displayed at a supermarket in Seoul on July 20.YONHAP
As prices continue to climb, a new trend called "jjan-tech" is rapidly gaining popularity among Korea's savings shoppers. The coined term combines "jjan," slang associated with extreme thrifting, with the English loan word used in another portmanteau referring to personal financial management.
It might not sound that different from the usual inflation-induced penny pinching, but it is —consumers are no longer simply reducing how much they spend. Instead, they're trying to not only save money but also make money along the way.
“I’m currently taking time off work, so I sell coupons from my mobile carrier and coffee loyalty rewards,” said a 41-year-old Gyeonggi resident surnamed Song on Wednesday. “Once, I bought a stamp for 200 won [14 cents] because I needed only one more to get a free coffee. You don’t just find 500 won on the ground. Every little bit adds up.”
Because of the jjan-tech boom, people are now selling 1,000-won discount coupons for coffee chains for 500 won or buying promotional ready-to-cook food products for around 1,000 won.
Last month, mobile carrier LG U+issued coupons for a free serving of No Brand’s spicy naengmyeon (cold noodle) dish topped with sliced myeongtae hoe (raw pollack). Posts reading “Selling for 1,000 won” and “Looking to buy for 1,000 won” soon flooded Naver online communities.
A Naver community called “Jjandori Becoming Rich,” where such transactions are common, has around 370,000 members. A Jjandori is an extremely frugal person, but the term can also carry the less flattering meaning of cheapskate.
Another service, called “Geoji Map,” has attracted more than 2 million visits since its launch in March.Geoji means beggar in Korean.The crowdsourced service lets users share and browse inexpensive restaurants on an interactive map.
Online, a real-life version of the hit variety show “Happiness in 10,000 Won” (2003-08) has also made a comeback among young people. The program challenged celebrities to survive for a week on just 10,000 won. Social media is now filled with content showing how to prepare a week’s worth ofbanchan (side dishes) with 10,000 won.
Customers line up at No Brand Burger’s Seongsu Lab location in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, for a promotion offering a burger to the first 50 customers for 1,000 won (68 cents) on March 31.NEWS1
Retailers are also using the trend in their marketing.
No Brand uploaded a video titled “Looks Expensive, Right? Packing a Lunch That Costs Less Than Half the Price of Eating Out” to its official YouTube channellast December.It has also shared recipes using affordable and readily available tofu, including spicy tofu stir-fry and mapo tofu (tofu braised in spicy sauce).
The trend toward ultrafrugal spending is expected to continue as restaurant and food prices rise. Prices for kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew), jajangmeyon (black bean noodles), kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) and gimbap (seaweed rice roll) have increased every year, according to the Korea Consumer Agency.
CJ CheilJedang said it will raise prices for 27 products, including microwavable instant rice, dumplings and grilled fish, by an average of 8 percent starting Thursday.
Sajo Group will raise prices beginning Aug. 3. Canned tuna will increase by 10 percent, other canned seafood by 20 percent and products including gochujang (red pepper paste), doenjang (soybean paste), deulgireum (perilla oil) and chamgireum (sesame oil) by 12 percent.
Coffee chains Mega MGC Coffee and The Venti raised prices for major menu items by between 100 won and 500 won in May and June.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
