The Value of Money, in Ramen
All scenes › Chapter 1 Wages stay the same?
A pack of ramen for 10 won
1963: 10 won → 2025: about 830 won
View in 3DA pack of ramen for 10 won
In September 1963, instant ramen first went on sale in Korea. One pack cost 10 won. In 2025, a pack costs about 830 won. As a number, that is about 83 times higher. Did ramen become that precious, or did money change? And have the wages we earn really stood still?
Why?That year, one person earned about 19,300 won a year on average. In 2025, it was about 52,570,000 won. While ramen prices rose, the numbers people earned grew too.
Learn moreHere, "earned" means gross national income per person: everything the country earned, divided by the number of people. It is an average, not the pay someone actually takes home. The first ramen price comes from the National Archives of Korea and news reports of the time.
- One pack of ramen, 1963
- 10 won
calculated from Bank of Korea ECOS data and recorded ramen prices
View this scene in 3D →Read more
Bank of Korea · Economic Statistics System (ECOS, in Korean) · Newsis (2023-10-16) · Ramen that cost 100 won in 1983 rose eightfold (in Korean) · National Archives of Korea · ramen (in Korean)
More in the series
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.