The Value of Money, in Ramen
All scenes › Chapter 3 Over the long run
Did earnings stay the same?
Income rose far more than ramen prices
View in 3DOver the long run, income rose more
So did what people earn really stay the same? In 1983, one person's average monthly earnings bought about 1,440 packs of ramen. In 2025, they buy about 5,270 packs. Income rose much faster than ramen prices, so people can actually buy more ramen. Over the long run, "earnings stay the same" is not true.
Why?Between 1983 and 2025, income grew about 30.5 times, while all prices grew about 4.1 times. When income rises faster than prices, the same month of work buys more.
Learn more"What one person earns" here is everything the country earned in a year, divided by the number of people (children and adults) and then by 12 months — gross national income per person. It is the same data as in the first scene, and it is not one worker's pay. Each pack icon in the stack stands for 100 packs.
- Ramen one person's monthly income buys, 2025
- 5,270 packs
- Monthly earnings, 1983
- about 144,000 won
- Monthly earnings, 2025
- about 4,380,000 won
calculated from Bank of Korea ECOS data and recorded ramen prices
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Bank of Korea · Economic Statistics System (ECOS, 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.