The cost of dining out continues to soar nationwide in line with the upward trend of global inflationary pressure.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency, the average cost of gimbap, a key barometer of consumer inflation due to its status as a cheap, ubiquitous staple food, came to three-thousand-46 Korean won in August, increasing by over two point-five percent on-month.

The price for 200 grams of pork belly stood at 18-thousand-364 won, an increase of nearly two percent, while the average price of kimchi stew with rice came to around seven-thousand-500 won, up  one percent from the previous month.

Other dining out favorites such as a bowl of cold buckwheat noodles averaged around ten-thousand-500 won, while samgyetang, the country’s traditional chicken soup, came to 15-thousand-462 won, both increasing by at least zero-point-five percent.

The individual increase in prices for each meal reflects the overall trend in the price of dining out, which climbed eight-point-eight percent on-month in August, a figure not seen in 30 years.