Koreans turn to online purchases for Lunar New Year preparations

[Courtesy of SSG.com]

South Korean families are turning to online purchases to prepare for charye, a memorial ceremony for their ancestors on the first day of the Korean lunar calendar.

According to SSG.com, an online marketplace run by Shinsegae Group, on Thursday, sales of frozen home meal replacements (HMRs) used for Lunar New Year ancestral rites have surged sharply between January 20 and 26, three weeks before the holiday, from the same period last year.

Demand for jeon, or traditional fritters, were high, with sales increasing by 163 percent. Items such as skewered jeon and beef slice jeon made for easy cooking in a frying pan or air fryer ranked high in sales.

Ingredients for traditional Lunar New Year dishes like tteokguk, or rice cake soup, are also gaining popularity.

Sales of jeonbyeong, or traditional crepe, and mandu, dumplings in Korean cuisine, increased by 93 percent compared to last year. CJ Cheiljedang Corp. and Shinsegae Food Inc. secured top sales in mandu products.

Demand for beef bone soup and broth used in various soups also increased.

During the survey period, six out of the top 10 frozen food products in sales were traditional Lunar New Year dishes, including jeon, seasoned minced meat patties, and marinated short ribs.

Consumers say these frozen foods are almost identical to those cooked and sold at traditional markets or big box stores in terms of taste and price, while having advantages for storage and small amount purchases.

“Frozen meal kits for ancestral rites offerings not only reduce costs but also save the trouble of shopping and cooking, making them increasingly popular,” said one industry insider.

When it comes to fresh foods such as fruits and meat, consumers are looking for cost-effective options.

According to open market platform Gmarket Inc., the online shopping platform witnessed sales of imported and substitute foods increased by up to six times between January 22 and 30 in 2024, compared to the period between January 3 and 11 in 2023, both of which are just before Lunar New Year holiday.

Consumers have chosen inexpensive substitutes instead of items with price hikes for this Lunar New Year preparations, maintaining an average increase in per capita purchase amount by about 10 percent.

For example, purchases of apples and pears, whose prices have significantly risen recently, have been restrained, while purchases of other types of locally produced citruses have increased.

Imported orange purchases also increased by 556 percent compared to the same period last year, along with strawberries (130 percent), bananas (67 percent), and kiwis (15 percent).

Sales of imported pork increased by 167 percent, while domestic pork only increased by 20 percent. Seasoned meat that are relatively inexpensive and easy to cook also gained popularity, with beef product sales up by 69 percent and pork products up by 20 percent.

However, beef still maintained a high preference for local breeds and locally bred, with sales of those increasing by 45 percent and imported beef by 23 percent.