Increasing Prices Cause Concern Ahead of Chuseok
Suwon Market Visitors Facing Challenges
In the run-up to Chuseok, a significant national holiday in South Korea, citizens visiting Suwon Market expressed their worries over rising prices. Jeon, a woman in her 40s, carefully browsed the market, contemplating whether to purchase taro and various vegetables.
Among the items Jeon considered buying were ferns and hits. The price for 150g of fern was ₩5,000, while a basket containing 15 to 20 hits was priced at ₩8,000. When Jeon suggested negotiating a price of ₩6,000 for 200g of fern, the merchant adamantly refused, citing a lack of profitability.
Jeon lamented the steep increase in prices, wondering if she would have faced similar challenges during last year’s Chuseok. She even jested about needing to boil water in a pot to capture the festive atmosphere, given the current market conditions.
Another visitor to the grocery store, Han, in her 30s, engaged in a discussion with her husband concerning the purchase of ‘jeon,’ a traditional Chuseok food. However, the high price of eggs, with special and large eggs priced at ₩8,000 and ₩8,500 respectively for a pack of 30 eggs, made them hesitant to open their wallets.
Unfazed by the situation, Han’s husband humorously suggested that the time it takes to fry pancakes in oil, along with the cost of eggs and other ingredients, made it more worthwhile to purchase takeaway pancakes.
Consumer Price Index on the Rise
The province has experienced a significant surge in consumer prices, with the inflation rate exceeding the previous 2% range and entering the 3% threshold. According to the ‘Gyeonggi-do Consumer Price Trend for August 2023’ report published by the Gyeongin Regional Bureau of Statistics, the consumer price index in the province reached 112.19 (2020 = 100) last month, representing a 0.9% increase compared to the previous month and a 3.3% increase compared to the same month last year. This marked a return to the 3% range for the first time in three months.
Contributing factors to this rise were identified as agricultural products, livestock and fisheries, electricity, gas, water, and industrial products. Abnormal weather conditions like heatwaves and heavy rain caused a 5.4% increase in prices for agricultural, livestock, and marine products compared to the previous month, and a 1.8% increase compared to the same month last year.
In addition, electricity, gas, and water prices rose by 0.2% compared to the previous month and 21.3% compared to the same month last year, while industrial products such as gasoline and diesel saw increases of 1.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
Cost of Living Index Reflects Rising Prices
The cost of living index, which represents perceived prices, also showed an upward trend. Food prices rose by 1.6% compared to the previous month and 4.7% compared to the same month last year. Non-food products experienced a 1.2% increase compared to the previous month and a 3.1% increase compared to the same month last year.
In comparison, the nationwide consumer price index for August 2023, as reported by Statistics Korea, stood at 112.33 (2020 = 100). This represents a 1.0% increase from the previous month and a 3.4% increase from the same month last year.
On the 27th, the day before the Chuseok national holiday, a merchant carries rice cakes at Gwangjang Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2023.9.27/News1 ⓒ News Reporter1 Lee Jae-myeong
Citizens who visited Gwangjang Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 27th, a day before the Chuseok national holiday, look at ceremonial items. 2023.9.27/News1 ⓒ News Reporter1 Lee Jae-myeong
(Suwon = News 1) Reporter Jae-gyu Yoo = “Green vegetables will become valuable food.”
On the 28th, the day before Chuseok, a citizen named Jeon (40s, female) I met at a traditional market in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, was looking at the Chuseok market while sighing.
I’m afraid to open my wallet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t avoid buying taro and various vegetables.
The items that Mr. Jeon is considering buying them or not is a fern and hit. 150g of fern is 5,000 won, and a basket containing 15 to 20 hits is 8,000 won.
When Mr. Jeon to the merchant that it would be possible to charge 6,000 won for 200g of fern, he was flatly refused, saying, “There is nothing left in the business.”
Mr Jeon said, “The price has gone up so much that I wonder if I would have bought it like this last year too. It has got to the point where I have to boil water in a pot to get into the mood of the holidays. They say prices have gone up, but I can feel it.”
Ms. Han (female, 30s), who came to the grocery store with her husband carrying a baby in a baby carrier, discussing with her husband whether she should buy ‘jeon’, the representative food of Chuseok.
I hesitated to open my wallet because the price of eggs was close to 10,000 won, including 8,000 won for special eggs and 8,500 for large eggs for a pack of 30 eggs.
Mr. He stuck out his tongue and said, “If you calculate how long it takes to fry pancakes in oil, eggs and pancakes, it would be better to buy pancakes to take out.”
‘Price prices’ are skyrocketing. In fact, the rate of increase in consumer prices in the province broke the 2% range it had held for two months and entered the 3% range.
According to the ‘Gyeonggi-do consumer price trend for August 2023’ published by the Gyeongin Regional Bureau of Statistics, the consumer price index in the province last month was 112.19 (2020 = 100), up 0.9% compared to the previous month and 3.3% compared to the same month last year.
This is an increase from the 2% range held at 3.2% in May, 2.6% in June, and 2.2% in July, to the 3% range again in 3 months.
The contributions to the increase were identified as agricultural products, livestock and fisheries, electricity, gas, water, and industrial products.
In the case of agricultural, livestock and marine products, there was an increase of 5.4% compared to the previous month and 1.8% compared to the same month last year due to the influence of abnormal climate such as heat waves and heavy rain.
Electricity, gas and water, which were the main drivers of the upward trend, also rose by 0.2% compared to the previous month and 21.3% compared to the same month last year, while industrial products such as gasoline and diesel also rose 1.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
The cost of living index, which represents perceived prices, all also showed an upward curve.
Food prices rose by 1.6% compared to the previous month and 4.7% compared to the same month last year, while non-food products also rose by 1.2% compared to the previous month and 3.1 % compared to the same month last year.
Meanwhile, the nationwide consumer price index for August 2023 published by Statistics Korea was 112.33 (2020 = 100), up 1.0% from the previous month and 3.4% from the same month last year.
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