South Korea - February 25, 2025 Seoul, South Korea - Recent South Koreans are cutting back on dining out and searching for affordable meal solutions such as ready-to-eat meals and discounted snacks, driving a surge in demand for budget-friendly groceries amid rising inflation. The country's consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.2 percent in January, according to official data released by Statistics Korea. As a result, South Korean consumers faced higher costs for both processed foods and dining out in January. Processed food prices accelerated to a 2.7 percent year-on-year increase, up from 2 percent in December, while eating-out expenses rose 2.9 percent. To attract price-conscious consumers, retailers are expanding their offerings of affordable products, including ready-to-cook meal sets priced around 2.76 U.S. dollars, which have become a hit at major supermarkets. Meanhwhile, convenience stores are expanding their offerings of budget-friendly foods, including snacks and kimbap (Seaweed Rice Rolls). CU, South Korea's leading convenience store chain, reports that sales of products priced below 1,000 won (about 70 cents in U.S. dollars) are increasing at a remarkable 20 percent annually. Shotlist: Seoul, South Korea - Recent: 1. Various of ready-to-cook meal sets at supermarket; 2. SOUNDBITE (Korean) local resident (name not given) (ending with shot 3): "My colleague told me that there are convenient foods sold at the supermarket. [This is my first time] coming here to check it out. There are indeed many varieties, and they are value for money. I'll definitely buy it regularly in the future."; 3. Various of ready-to-cook meal sets at supermarket; 4. Various of people eating at restaurants; 5. Various of customers at convenience store, goods on shelves, price tags; 6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Son Woo-yoon, manager, CU convenience store (ending with shot 7): "Consumers have become more sensitive to prices. We've adjusted product prices in 10 won units (about 0.007 U.S. dollars). This time, we prioritized launching fresh foods and processed products. Now we are stocking the shelves with fresh foods and processed products, and are planning to further expand the range of ultra-low-priced items to attract more consumers."; 7. Various of Son working, goods at convenience store; 8. Various of customers at supermarket. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]