We loved Korean food! And even rather high prices did not prevent us from enjoying the national food and trying almost all the most famous dishes. We share our experience. Find out what food prices are in South Korea, what to try and how to save.
God bless Korea! These people know a lot about food! Nowhere else have I enjoyed the variety, taste and abundance of food so much as in South Korea. Even such gastronomic branches of Paradise on Earth as Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Georgia, Vietnam are left far behind.
What to try in Korea? EVERYTHING!
Where to eat deliciously in Korea? EVERYWHERE!
It never tastes bad here, this is a culinary paradise.
Find out: How to travel to Korea cheap >>
Is it expensive in Korea
Exchange rate: 1000 South Korean won (KRW) ≈ 62 RUB.
Yes, Seoul is drowning in food! There is no such food cult in any country in Southeast Asia. In all this abundance, one thing confuses - the prices. Here they are not at all Asian, and the appetite immediately disappears when you translate prices into rubles or dollars. You know, it is psychologically difficult to pay $ 7 for a simple noodle soup, when the same soup in Vietnam costs $ 1-2. And we just flew to Korea from Southeast Asia, so we were a little embarrassed.
The most offensive thing is that food is very cheap by local standards - we are so flawed with the ruble exchange rate and Russian salaries. The average salary in Korea is over $ 3,000, in Russia it is $ 500. The difference is 6 times! It seems too expensive for us to eat 1,000 rubles worth of street food, but for a Korean it's like spending only 150 rubles by our standards. For a Korean, going to an ordinary cafe or restaurant is the same as going to a dining room for us.
Find out: Why we love Korea >>
Prices in a cafe
In a cafe in Seoul, we ate for 4-8K ₩ - this is usually the price of one dish. For example, seaweed soup, meat soup, or bibimbap - 6-9K ₩. It is quite inexpensive. Even cheaper to take mándu (like our manti or dumplings) and vegetable roll gimbap - 4-5K ₩. For any meal you will be served a variety of pickled snacks, sauces and water - all for free.
We will not recommend establishments in Seoul - it is pointless. Wherever we ate, it was delicious everywhere. Feel free to choose any cafe!
Prices in the restaurant
You can eat a hearty meal for 12-20K ₩, on average, dishes cost 15-30K ₩. We didn’t go to restaurants - but why, when there is a lot of the same cheaper food around?
B-B-Q
In the evening, the streets are filled with the smell of grilled meat - Koreans love barbecuing. There are a lot of such establishments! Barbecue costs 9-20K ₩ per person, depending on the type of meat and weight. We did not like it at all - it was expensive, inconvenient, long, and there was little meat. This was the only time when we left a Korean restaurant hungry and unhappy, spending 26K ₩. Of course, this is our first pancake lumpy, but still I don't want to repeat - it's better to order something ready.
Coffee shops
Seoul is a city of coffee lovers. Here, even in the most inconspicuous cafe, we were asked what we would choose - Ethiopia Irgachef or Guatemala. It's nice to deal with real connoisseurs. A cup of coffee usually costs 4-5K ₩, but you can find it for 2.5K ₩.
Markets
Contrary to the stereotype, it is not always cheaper to eat in markets than in cafes. Blood sausage - 10K ₩, mándu dumplings - 5K ₩, seafood and grilled fish - 12-20K ₩. The exception is the Thonin market, which is really cheap! There we ate a hearty meal for only 13K ₩ for two.
Street food
A quick and tasty snack on the go: egg bread for 1-2K ₩, 2 chicken skewers for 2.5K ₩, chestnuts, omelets, something incomprehensible in deep fat.
Also, in the evenings, tents with a variety of food appear on many streets and alleys. You can eat deliciously while sitting on small plastic chairs.
Prices in stores
There are small shops like 7/11, CU and GS25 at every turn in the city. They sell a quick snack: ready-made food, pastries, noodles, juices, yoghurts, drinks, chocolates, sweets, chips, some fruits and more. You can warm up in the store, and eat at tables outside. Meat, seafood and fish, cereals, vegetables and fruits should be bought in large supermarkets or markets.
In these minimarkets, we bought cheap ready-made food: fried manda dumplings for 3.5K ₩ and biscuits for 1.5-2K ₩. Catch profitable promotions 2 + 1 or 1 + 1 on noodles, juices, yoghurts, buns - we took this for breakfast.
Food prices in South Korea in supermarkets in 2021:
| Product | Price in ₩ |
| milk (1 l) | from 2700 |
| sweet milk with different flavors (500 ml) | from 1500 |
| yogurt | from 1200 |
| drinking yoghurt Danone | from 1800 |
| local sweets | from 1500 |
| Milka chocolate | 2900 |
| loaf of bread (80 g) | about 2000 |
| bun (1 piece) | from 1000 |
| sausage in dough, something fried in batter | 1000-2100 |
| instant noodles | from 720 |
| instant noodles with meat | from 5900 |
| lunch boxes with ready meals | from 3800 |
| eggs (12 pcs) | from 3300 |
| apples (1 kg) | from 6500 |
| bananas | from 4000 |
| juice (200-300 ml) | 1000-1900 |
| water (1.5 l) | from 1500 |
| soju (rice vodka) | about 2700 |
| local beer (0.5 l) | 1500-2700 |
| imported beer (0.33 l) | from 4400 |
How to save
- We had a cheap and tasty lunch at the Thonin market (open until 16:00) - there we need to exchange money for traditional coins. 1 coin - 500 ₩, exchange at least 5K ₩. A plate for food is given free of charge. You can eat at the tables on the second floor, there is a toilet.
- They did not disdain street tents and inconspicuous eateries - it is tasty and inexpensive.
- We bought ready-made food in supermarkets - for example, mándu is no different from those served in cafes.
- We chose a hotel where free noodles or cookies were relied on per person per day, and coffee and tea were unlimited. This is what we had breakfast. True, on the third day they could no longer look at the beach packs, so they switched to yoghurts.
- We bought yoghurts, juices and milk for a promotion.
- We ate at food courts in large shopping centers - there are profitable set meals, and single meals are inexpensive.
Our food expenses in Korea
Our average check is 10-16K ₩. The portions are large enough, so sometimes one set menu will be enough for two. We did not overeat so much that it was impossible to get up from the table, but tried to eat a little and often - there are so many temptations at every step, I want to try everything.
For 5 days on food and groceries, we spent 164K ₩ ($ 140) for two. In other words, only $ 14 (900 rubles) per person per day - is that a lot?
As you can see, it is not necessary to go to Korea with a suitcase of money - we tried a lot of delicious food for absolutely adequate money.
