Consumers shop fruit at a traditional market in eastern Seoul on Sept. 6.YONHAP
Preparingfor the Chuseok holiday table is meant to bring a sense of warmth — but this year, it's cooking consumers with a price tag of more than 300,000 won ($223).
The prices of major agricultural, livestock and seafood products are rising across the board ahead of the holiday, which falls on Sept. 24 through 26 this year. Radishes, Korean zucchinis and pollock fillets in particular are now 20 percent to 30 percent more expensive than a year ago.
An intense heat wave that led to persistent supply constraints this summer is being blamed for rising prices. This year, Korea saw 21 and a half official heat wave days across the country, twice the historical average, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Amid the heated market, preparing a traditional Chuseok table for a family of four will cost about 302,500 won at a traditional market this year, up 1.2 percent from last year, according to a survey by private market researcher Korea Price Information on Sept. 6. The table setting traditionally consists of namul (seasoned vegetables), grilled fish or beef, several types of fruit and a liquor.
The same items would cost 397,700 won at a large supermarket, up 6,350 won, or 1.6 percent, from last year.
Much of the increase has come from chicken and eggs — staples that are also common on everyday kitchen tables.
At traditional markets, the price of 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds)of chicken has risen 12.5 percent from last year to 9,000 won, while 10 eggs now cost 3,500 won, up 16.7 percent. Prices at supermarkets climbed 7.6 percent for chicken and 20 percent for a pack of 10 eggs.
Apples and pears, key ingredients for the traditional Chuseok table, are displayed for sale at a market in eastern Seoul on Sept. 1.NEWS1
Extreme summer heat hurt livestock and poultry production, while avian influenza and higher feed costs further tightened supplies.
The price of Russian pollock fillets at traditional markets has jumped 30 percent from a year earlier to 13,000 won, largely due to higher oil prices and a weak local currency.
Among vegetables, prices for radishes, known as mu in Korean, rose 20 percent, while Korean zucchinis, or aehobak, climbed 33.3 percent.
Hanwoo, or Korean beef, which is in particularly high demand as a holiday gift, has also become more expensive.
The retail price of hanwoo tenderloin stood at 15,308 won per 100 grams ($51 per pound) as of Sept. 4, up 19.9 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation. Sirloin prices rose 22.6 percent, while brisket, commonly used for a soy-braised jangjorim dish, climbed 17.7 percent.
Wholesale hanwoo prices during the peak Chuseok season are expected to reach 24,000 won to 25,000 won per kilogram ($8.50 per pound), up 14.3 to 19 percent from last year, according to the Korea Rural Economic Institute’s Center for Agricultural Outlook.
The price gains reflect a decline in cattle herds after hanwoo prices plunged several years ago, compounded by higher feed costs as global grain prices rose.
Consumers browse beef products at a hypermarket in central Seoul on Sept. 3.NEWS1
“The number of cattle being raised this year is at its lowest level, and we expect it to return to the average level around late 2027 or early 2028,” a source from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said.
The government has moved to stabilize prices by supplying a record 183,000 tons of key Chuseok food items. It plans to increase fruit supplies to more than three times normal levels and egg supplies to as much as 2.4 times normal levels. A record 103 billion won has also been earmarked to subsidize discounts at traditional markets.
“We will make expanding supplies of livestock products a priority as recent price increases have raised concerns,” Seo Jun-han, chief of the marketing and consumer policy bureau at the Agriculture Ministry, said.
“To ensure sufficient supplies ahead of the holiday, slaughterhouses nationwide will operate as usual on weekends, and we will secure as much volume as possible through the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation to prepare supplies in the one to two weeks before Chuseok, when demand peaks.”
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.
