YouTuber's 990 won bread slammed for undermining bakers. Are they right?

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YouTuber's 990 won bread slammed for undermining bakers. Are they right?

Published: 03 Sep. 2025, 13:49 Updated: 03 Sep. 2025, 18:49

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Salt bread for sale at 990 won (70 cents) is sold out at a pop-up store held by YouTuber Syuka World in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on Aug. 31. [NEWS1]

Bread prices in Korea have been rising by over 6 percent for the past six consecutive months, adding to consumers' financial burden amid the ongoing inflation of food prices. The persistent rise came to the fore after a popular YouTuber, Syuka, sold bread for 990 won (70 cents), sparking a debate over whether the current prices of baked goods are justified.

According to data from Statistics Korea’s national statistics portal Kosis, the bread price index in August stood at 138.61 — based on 2020 prices set at 100 — marking a 6.5 percent increase from the same month a year earlier. That figure is more than triple the overall consumer inflation rate of 1.7 percent and more than double the 2.3 percent it would have hit without the downward effect of SK Telecom’s mobile phone bill reductions. The last time bread prices rose this sharply was in July 2023, when they climbed by 8.6 percent — more than two years ago.

Bread prices began rising in December of last year and jumped 6.3 percent in March of this year. Since then, the year-on-year increase has remained above 6 percent for six consecutive months. While flour prices have somewhat stabilized since global supply disruptions induced by Russia's war in Ukraine, they remain elevated, and egg prices in August were up 8 percent from the same month last year. Statistics Korea attributes the continued rise in bread prices to a combination of higher raw material costs, rising labor expenses and a string of factory-gate price hikes.

Even compared to other countries, bread in Korea is relatively expensive. A report compiled by Kongju National University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation for the Fair Trade Commission found that Korea’s bread consumer price index in 2023 stood at 129 — higher than the United States at 125, Japan at 120 and France at 118. The average price per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) was 703 won, compared to 609 won in France, 588 won in the United States and 566 won in Australia.

The same report also noted the high profitability of Korea’s bakery sector. Sales at specialty bakeries jumped from approximately 6 trillion won in 2020 to 7.57 trillion won in 2022, a 25.7 percent increase, while operating profit surged 75.3 percent over the same period. The mass-produced bread segment has grown at an annual average of 8.7 percent, outpacing the overall food industry’s growth rate of six percent.

Visitors queue up outside the bakery pop-up store held by YouTuber Syuka World in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, on Aug. 31. [YONHAP]

Concerns have also been raised over market dominance by SPC Samlip, a leading baked goods manufacturer, which controls roughly 80 percent of the market, raising the possibility of a monopoly. Since April, the Fair Trade Commission has been investigating major food companies for potential price-fixing in the bread and confectionery sector and is conducting a separate probe into suspected collusion in egg pricing.

Syuka's 990 won bread has been praised as a direct response to so-called breadflation and has gained popularity among consumers. Last weekend, the YouTuber, whose real name is Jeon Seok-jae, presented 35 types of bread and cakes at prices well below market rates, including salt bread, baguettes and bagels at 990 won each, at his weekend pop-up store.

After receiving backlash from bakery owners that the project "unfairly portrayed other bakers as profiteers," Syuka apologized and explained that he "never criticized self-employed bakers."

"I only meant to talk about the structural problems in bread pricing, but it was interpreted differently, which is unfortunate. If anyone felt offended, I believe it was a misunderstanding," he said.

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.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]