The Value of Money, in Ramen
All scenes › Chapter 4 Why it still feels that way
Everyday things
Jajangmyeon and bus fares rose far more than average
View in 3DEveryday things rose more
One more thing: different things rose by different amounts. From 1983 to 2025, all prices together (yellow bar) rose about 4.1 times, and rice about 3.8 times. But jajangmyeon (black-bean noodles) rose about 12.1 times, and city bus fares about 11.8 times. When the things we eat and ride every day rise far more than average, prices feel like they went up even more.
Why?Things made in large numbers in factories rise less as machines get better. Things that need people's hands-on work (services), like restaurant food or buses, tend to get more expensive when the workers' pay goes up.
Learn more"All prices" (yellow bar) collects the prices of several hundred things people often buy, giving more weight to things people buy more. This is called the consumer price index. The bars use the Bank of Korea's price index for each item.
- All prices, 1983 → 2025
- 4.1×
calculated from Bank of Korea ECOS data and recorded ramen prices
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Bank of Korea · Economic Statistics System (ECOS, in Korean)
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Prices, money, income, wages and interest rates come from the Bank of Korea Economic Statistics System (ECOS); ramen prices come from the National Archives of Korea and the Korea Price Research Center (as reported). All income and wage figures are averages. The banknote and ramen packs in the 3D view are sample drawings, not real designs or brands.