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Gim prices soar for third consecutive year, reaching record high

Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 11:54 Updated: 02 Feb. 2026, 14:22

Foreign tourists shop for gim snacks at a large supermarket in Seoul on April 29, 2024. [YONHAP]

Gim, the Korean staple dried seaweed gaining global popularity, hit a record high as prices continue to soar for a third straight year.

The average retail price of mid-grade dried gim stood at 1,515 won ($1.04) per 10 sheets as of late January, according to retail price data released Monday by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation. It was the first time the late-January average topped 1,500 won.

After hovering at around 100 won per sheet in early 2024, gim prices climbed past 150 won per sheet in late January, rising by nearly 50 percent in two years.

Prices rose gradually before accelerating after 2023. The average annual retail price of dried gim rose 10 percent in 2023 from a year earlier, moving above 100 won per sheet, and then jumped 25 percent in 2024. The uptrend continued in 2025, with prices rising another 8 percent.

A surge in exports has contributed to the price spike. Korea exported 107 million bundles of gim in 2025, up 13.7 percent from the previous year. Each bundle contains 100 sheets.

A woman shops for gim at a large supermarket in Seoul on Dec. 10, 2025. [YONHAP]

By volume, the top destinations were Japan at 18.6 percent, China at 17.5 percent, Thailand at 13.6 percent, the United States at 13.3 percent, Russia at 9.8 percent and Taiwan at 5.1 percent.

Higher gim prices are also pushing up seafood inflation. The consumer price index for gim rose 14.9 percent from a year earlier in December 2025. Yellow croaker rose 10.5 percent and mackerel rose 10.3 percent, but gim recorded the biggest increase.

With prices of key seafood items climbing, seafood inflation reached 5.9 percent in 2025, nearly triple the overall consumer inflation rate of 2.1 percent.

“We will work to keep rising gim exports from pushing up prices at home by increasing production, boosting the added value of gim products and expanding consumer discount programs,” the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said. “We will keep a close watch on price trends and take steps to stabilize prices.”

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 HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]