🚨 Ramen 2,000 Won Era: Rising Living Costs and Food Inflation

Today Korean Economic News | 2025.06.15

📌 Ramen Now Costs 2,000 Won Each, Adding Burden to Ordinary People

💬 Ramen prices have exceeded 2,000 won, increasing food costs for ordinary people. Eggs, pork, and other major food prices are also rising together, causing overall living costs to go up. The government is working on solutions to control prices as a key priority. Convenience store ramen that students and workers often buy has crossed the 2,000 won mark, changing from a "people's snack" to an "expensive food item." Food companies say rising raw material costs and labor costs are reasons for price increases, but consumers complain that the price increases they feel are much higher than official statistics.

1️⃣ Easy to Understand

The price of ramen that we eat often has gone over 2,000 won, making life more expensive for ordinary people. This is not just a simple price increase, but a sign that price pressures are rising throughout our economy.

Ramen is one of the foods Korean people eat most often. Especially for university students and young workers, it was a cheap and convenient meal substitute. But now that ramen prices have exceeded 2,000 won, the idea of it being "cheap food" is changing.

There are several reasons why ramen prices are going up. First, wheat flour prices have risen. Wheat flour, the main ingredient in ramen, is mostly imported, and prices have gone up due to rising international grain prices and exchange rate changes. Second, packaging materials and shipping costs have also increased. Plastic and paper packaging prices have risen, and fuel price increases have made shipping more expensive. Third, labor costs are also a factor. Minimum wage increases and higher factory worker wages have increased production costs.

The problem is that it's not just ramen that has gone up in price. Eggs now cost over 9,000 won for a carton (30 eggs), and pork prices have risen more than 15% compared to last year. Even basic vegetables like onions and green onions have jumped significantly in price. When this happens, the cost of ingredients for home-cooked food goes up overall, making food expenses bigger.

This phenomenon is called "living cost inflation." It means that while it may not show well in general price indexes, the rate of price increases that people actually feel in their daily lives is high. Especially low-income families and young people are hit harder because food costs make up a larger portion of their total living expenses.

The government is also taking this problem seriously. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is discussing ways to stabilize prices by increasing the supply of major foods and holding meetings with distribution companies. They are also considering expanding food vouchers for vulnerable groups and supporting public meals.

However, finding fundamental solutions is not easy. International raw material prices and exchange rates are factors that are difficult for us to control directly. Therefore, individuals need to manage household budgets more carefully and actively use discount events and substitute products.

The ramen 2,000 won era is a warning sign that price increase pressures in our economy have reached everyday life. Government policy efforts and individual smart spending habits are becoming more important.

2️⃣ Economic Terms

📕 Living Costs

Living costs are indicators that show price changes for goods and services we buy frequently in daily life.

• This includes daily necessities like ramen, eggs, milk, bread, and public transportation and communication costs.
• It is considered to better reflect the prices people actually feel than official consumer price indexes.
• It is an important indicator that directly affects the lives of low-income families and young people.

📕 Inflation

Inflation means prices continuously rising.

• It leads to currency value decline and reduced purchasing power, affecting the entire economy.
• Appropriate levels of inflation (around 2% per year) help economic growth, but too much causes problems.
• It is classified into demand-pull, cost-push, and import inflation depending on the cause.

📕 Felt Inflation

Felt inflation means the rate of price increases that consumers actually feel in their daily lives.

• It often differs from official price indexes, and felt inflation is usually higher.
• It has the characteristic of being more sensitive to price changes of frequently purchased items.
• Lower-income families tend to have bigger gaps between felt inflation and official price indexes.

📕 Raw Material Costs

Raw material costs mean the cost of basic materials needed to make products.

• For ramen, wheat flour, palm oil, and packaging materials are the main raw materials.
• They are greatly affected by international raw material price changes and exchange rate fluctuations.
• Rising raw material costs become a major cause of final product price increases.

3️⃣ Analysis and Economic Outlook

✅ Structural Causes of Food Inflation

• Let's analyze the fundamental causes and effects of price increases for ramen and other major foods.

  • First, rising international raw material prices are the key driver of food inflation. Wheat flour, the main ingredient in ramen, is mostly imported, so it is directly affected by international wheat price changes. Since the second half of 2024, weather problems in Russia-Ukraine regions and Middle East instability have disrupted global grain supply chains. International wheat prices have risen 25% compared to last year, and palm oil prices have also risen nearly 20% due to drought in Southeast Asia. With exchange rate changes on top of this, import cost burdens have become even bigger. The won-dollar exchange rate staying around 1,380 won is adding to importers' burdens. These raw material cost increases are leading to price increases not just for ramen but for all products using wheat flour like bread, cookies, and noodles.

  • Second, structural problems in domestic livestock and agriculture are increasing food price instability. Behind the sharp rise in egg prices are the spread of bird flu (AI) and rising feed costs. Since the end of 2024, AI spread nationwide, leading to the culling of about 15 million laying hens, which is 20% of the total number raised. Feed costs have also risen more than 30% compared to last year due to higher prices of imported feed like corn and soybean meal. Pork price increases follow a similar pattern. Increased costs for African swine fever (ASF) prevention and rising feed costs have pushed up production costs. Korea's livestock industry is particularly vulnerable to international grain price changes because it depends mostly on imported feed. These problems are difficult to solve quickly and are expected to continue creating price increase pressures.

  • Third, increased distribution and logistics costs are speeding up final consumer price increases. Recent fuel price increases have greatly increased shipping costs. With diesel prices exceeding 1,600 won per liter, logistics companies' shipping cost burdens have increased, and this is being fully reflected in product prices. Also, rising wages for delivery drivers and the implementation of 52-hour work weeks have increased labor costs. Packaging material prices are also a problem. Prices of plastic and paper packaging materials made from petrochemical products and pulp have risen, increasing packaging costs by more than 20%. Products like ramen, where packaging materials make up a high portion of product costs, are especially affected. These cost increases are being passed from manufacturers to wholesalers to retailers to final consumers, amplifying the price increase effect.

• Food inflation is the result of international factors and domestic structural problems working together. We need short-term responses along with long-term food security policies and strengthened agricultural competitiveness.

✅ Analysis of Effects on Different Income Groups

• Let's look at the different impacts price increases have on different income levels and social effects.

  • First, low-income families and young people are the biggest victims of food inflation. According to Statistics Korea's household trend survey, food spending by the bottom 20% income households makes up 16.2% of total consumer spending, which is 4.1 percentage points higher than the top 20% households (12.1%). If ramen prices go up 500 won, low-income households face an additional burden of 60,000 won per year, while high-income households face 20,000 won. Young people with many single-person households are also hit hard. Single-person households in their 20s-30s rely mainly on convenience foods for meals, and prices for ramen, instant rice, and frozen foods have all gone up, making living costs more difficult. For university students, monthly food costs have increased 40% from an average of 250,000 won to 350,000 won according to survey results. This is a level that's difficult to handle with income from part-time jobs.

  • Second, small business owners and self-employed people are also suffering double hardships. Small restaurants like snack bars and kimbap shops face increased ingredient costs but find it difficult to easily raise prices. If a snack bar that charged 4,000 won for a bowl of ramen raises it to 5,000 won, customers turn away. In the end, they endure by reducing margins or close down entirely. According to the Korea Restaurant Association, one-third of small restaurants are operating at a loss, and businesses considering closure have increased by more than 20%. This leads to job losses and local business district decline, having negative effects on the overall economy. For small business owners who already struggled during COVID-19, this is becoming another survival crisis.

  • Third, we should also pay attention to how price increases affect consumption patterns and social atmosphere. As food prices rise, consumers are focusing even more on "cost-effectiveness," changing consumption behavior. Convenience stores are seeing increased sales of low-cost private brand (PB) products, and large marts are seeing more people coming only during discount events. Also, the trend of reducing eating out and cooking at home is spreading, but ironically, rising ingredient costs are making home cooking burdensome too. These changes lead to weakened domestic consumption, becoming a factor that reduces overall economic vitality. Among young people, like the term "N-po generation," frustration is growing about having to give up not just marriage and owning a home, but now even basic food after giving up so many things.

• Food inflation is acting as a factor that deepens social inequality and fuels class conflict beyond just an economic phenomenon. Urgent selective and focused government support policies are needed.

✅ Government Response Measures and Policy Effect Outlook

• Let's evaluate the government's price stabilization measures, their effectiveness, and future policy directions.

  • First, short-term supply expansion and distribution cost reduction policies are being implemented first. The government is considering tariff quota reductions and releasing stockpiled supplies for emergency supply stabilization of ramen and other major foods. They are also pursuing plans to temporarily lower import tariffs on wheat flour and palm oil to reduce raw material cost burdens, and to reduce shipping costs through national budget support. They are also encouraging voluntary price freezes or expanded discount events through meetings with large distribution companies. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is increasing imports to resolve shortages of eggs and pork, and is focused on preventing additional damage by strengthening AI prevention systems. However, these short-term measures have limitations in becoming fundamental solutions and cannot greatly influence external factors like international raw material prices or exchange rates.

  • Second, support for vulnerable groups and policies to reduce burdens on ordinary people are being expanded. The government is strengthening direct support for low-income families and small business owners. They have expanded food voucher support targets and increased support amounts from 120,000 won to 150,000 won per month. They are also considering meal cost support for university students and young people, and cost support for small business owners. In public meals, they are increasing the use of eco-friendly quality agricultural products to pursue both farm income stability and consumer burden relief. However, limitations in financial capacity mean support scale and targets are limited, and there are criticisms about limits in fundamental market structure improvement. Especially since middle-class families are excluded from support, they may feel relatively deprived, requiring careful policy design.

  • Third, long-term food security and agricultural competitiveness strengthening policies are needed. The government has begun a structural approach for fundamental resolution of food inflation. Major tasks include reducing import dependence through expanded domestic wheat production, improving productivity through smart farm expansion, and increasing feed self-sufficiency in livestock farming. They are also seeking ways to help both producers and consumers by improving agricultural product distribution structures to reduce intermediate margins and expanding direct transactions. They are also pursuing increased farm income and economies of scale through expanded K-food exports. However, it will take considerable time for these policies to show actual effects, and policy implementation is key since they require massive budgets and active participation from farmers. Also, with many external variables like climate change and international political instability, predicting policy effects is difficult.

• Government price stabilization policies should pursue both short-term prescriptions and long-term structural improvements in a balanced way. It's especially important to design policies that provide selective support for vulnerable groups while not damaging market functions.

4️⃣ In Conclusion

Ramen prices breaking through 2,000 won is a symbolic event that requires fundamental reflection on our society's price structure and ordinary people's economy, beyond just individual product price increases. This shows that the Korean economy faces the double burden of vulnerable export-dependent structure and deepening income inequality.

Behind food inflation are complex factors including rising international raw material prices, exchange rate changes, climate change, and disease spread. Korea's structural vulnerability with high foreign dependence on key agricultural raw materials like wheat flour and feed grains is being exposed. This suggests that long-term food security strategies and strengthened agricultural competitiveness are needed, as these are challenges that cannot be solved quickly.

The more serious problem is that the burden of price increases is being distributed unequally across different income levels. Low-income families and young people are hit harder because food costs make up a larger portion of their living expenses, and small business owners face survival crises because they cannot easily pass increased costs to prices. This can act as a factor deepening social inequality and fueling class conflict.

Government responses should also pursue both short-term prescriptions and long-term structural improvements in a balanced way. Urgent supply expansion, distribution cost reduction, and direct support for vulnerable groups are immediately needed measures. But more fundamentally, structural reforms like improving agricultural productivity, improving distribution structures, and reducing import dependence must follow.

Personally, smart consumption and household management have become more important. Small practices like price comparison, using discount events, finding substitutes, and reducing food waste at home can add up to reduce living cost burdens. It's also necessary to actively use various government support programs.

The ramen 2,000 won era gives us a warning while also presenting the task of creating a more sustainable and fair economic system. Government, businesses, and individuals must each fulfill their roles while gathering wisdom together to overcome this difficult time.