15.01.2017
By Bak Jinwon
Domestically produced Dongwon tinned fish in a Korean supermarket.
Korean grocery prices and housing costs appear to be comparable with those in developed countries such as the US and Japan. Today (the 15th) the statistics site Numbeo released figures which show that Korean items such as fruit and rice are rated 12th most expensive globally, while city-centre apartment costs are reckoned to be amongst the top 10% among 119 countries surveyed. In particular, Korean bananas are the third-most expensive in the world, with a kilo of bananas costing $3.42, or around ₩4,000. The only countries where bananas are more expensive are Mongolia and Bermuda. Oranges, apples and tomatoes are also pricey, being the fourth-most expensive in the world, while Korea has the fifth-priciest rice and potaoes globally. Besides this onions, milk, cheese and beef prices are very high, being ranked in 6th place of all countries, while bread and cabbage prices are the highest in the world.
It appears as if housing costs are considered to be very high, too. City-centre apartments cost around $6,600 per square metre, placing them 9th globally for expense. Korea comes behind only a number of countries which are famous for their very high housing costs, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Macao, the UK, Japan, Luxembourg and Sweden. China came in 13th place and the US came in 44th place. Rural apartments were found to cost around $3,600 per square metre, comparable to apartments in Taiwan. Monthly rent on a Korean one-room city-centre apartment was found to be around $536, rankng 41st, while monthly rent of $1,309 for a three-bedroom apartment was 37th-most expensive.
A cappucino in a café was ranked at 19th most expensive while the cost of a litre of petrol was ranked at 30th in the world for cost. A Volkswagen Golf was priced at 25th in the world for expense. The goods or services which were cheapest in Korea in relation to other countries were internet charges and McDonald’s meals.
Despite the fact that Numbeo tallied up their figures for food costs from amongst 19 separate sales locations, the only items which they found to be relatively cheap were water, alcohol and tobacco. Water and domestic beer were ranked in 38th place in relation to products sold in other countries, while a box of Marlboro cigarettes were ranked at 44th place amongst global prices.
Analysis: daily life in Korea is an odd mix of very affordable and very expensive. Some goods and services – public transport, taxis, restaurant meals, locall-produced alcohol and utilities – are very cheap, while supermarket shopping can be surprisingly costly. It’s often cheaper to eat a quick meal of traditional Korean food at a restaurant than it is to buy the same ingredients from a supermarket. And while some types of food which are staples in the west are luxury or niche items in Korea, like cheese, beef and bread, and are considerably more expensive. (I’m also rather shocked by the price of bananas in Bermuda. They can grow them!)