Myeong-dong in Seoul known for street food gets expensive

Street in Myeong-dong, central Seoul [Photo by Choi Jae-won]

Myeong-dong, a popular destination for foreign travelers in the heart of Seoul, is facing complaints about the high prices of its street food.

South Korea has been making a concerted effort to boost tourism to help reduce its growing trade deficit but concerns rise that the effort could be undermined by outrageous prices by street food vendors.

On April 15, Maeil Business Newspaper visited Myeong-dong and checked the prices of street food. Chicken skewers were sold at 5,000 won ($3.8) each, doubling from 2,500~3,000 won three years ago before the pandemic.

A foreign visitor who visited Myeong-dong last week repeated “so expensive” after hearing the price of chicken skewers.

Similarly, hot dogs were sold for as high as around 5,000 won at most street vendors in the district. Compared to other places where hot dogs are sold for 3,000 won at fish cake shops or 4,000 won at some expensive highway rest areas, street vendors in Myeong-dong charge more. Frozen beef skewers called “steak skewers” sold for 10,000 won each, kebabs for 8,000 won, and grilled lobster for 20,000 won.

Myeong-dong street vendors say that the cost of food materials has risen so much that price increases are inevitable.

“Over the past three years, the cost of food materials, labor, and electricity has skyrocketed, and there is not much left for profit,” a street vendor selling skewers told Maeil Business Newspaper.

A food industry insider said that “some vendors who struggled during the pandemic may overprice their food to take advantage of the recent influx of tourists.”

“If complaints about the high prices of Myeong-dong food are shared on social media, the entire Myeong-dong commercial district could be weakened,” Jang Jae-ho, a professor in Food Science & Life Technology Department at Seoul National University warned, emphasizing that street vendors need to set reasonable prices for more foreign visitors to come, looking at the long-term benefits.