A "bungeoppang" seller in Seoul pours flour-based filling over red bean into one of the fish-shaped stone molds which give bungeoppangs their distinctive shape, in December 2023. Newsis
"Bungeoppang" is disappearing in Korea. The fish-shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean paste has become a rare sight as a street food. This decline is striking, given its immense popularity in the 1990s, when it became a symbolic winter treat, sold cheaply — 10 bungeoppangs for 1,000 won ($0.72) back then.
Nowadays, the price has increased by at least tenfold. Bungeoppang has become so scarce that people often unwittingly pay a premium for it in areas where street vendors still sell it. This situation has led large food companies to target bungeoppang cravings by mass-producing the pastry in various flavors, aiming to exploit what is a beloved winter comfort food for all.
The disappearance of bungeoppang vendors is due to this year's soaring prices of the snack's key ingredients — red beans, flour and cooking oil. Additionally, the cost of propane gas, which is used to heat the bakers, has risen compared to last year.
The sharpest price increase was seen in red beans. Extreme heat, floods and drought from July to September struck producers nationwide, leading to a significant drop in the bean's yield. Imports were also too expensive to offset the disrupted domestic supply. As of November, the price of red beans had risen to over 264,000 won per 40 kilograms, a 52 percent increase from 2019, according to Statistics Korea.
Flour and cooking oil prices in November also jumped by 5.1 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, from the previous month. Liquefied propane gas, compared to the previous year, jumped by 9.9 percent.
These price hikes have made bungeoppang no longer available for just 100 won each. The market shift was already evident about a decade ago when the price increased by at least 2.5 times, with three or four bungeoppang sold for 1,000 won. Now, most vendors sell them for 1,000 won apiece or three for 2,000 won. Some use cream instead of red beans and charge over 2,000 won for each one.
Inflation has pushed vendors off the streets, making their operations increasingly difficult to sustain. To help bungeoppang seekers find the remaining "last-standing" vendors, Danggeun, a popular online second-hand trading platform, launched a "bungeoppang map" feature on its app in late November.
Shift to mass-production
CJ Cheiljedang's pack of frozen purple sweet potato bungeoppang / Courtesy of CJ Cheiljedang
The dwindling number of bungeoppang vendors is being replaced by large companies, which have introduced new microwavable frozen bungeoppang products. This new trend apparently struck a chord with consumers who still enjoy eating the street food.
Shinsegae Food first released three different types of bungeoppang in 2022. Now, the lineup has expanded to five — red bean, cream, chocolate, sweet potato cheese and pizza.
Ottogi hit the jackpot last year when it released two different kinds of bungeoppang. During the winter season only, the company registered 3 billion won in sales with the new snacks. The company in July introduced two additional flavors.
CJ Cheiljedang on the eve of winter last year launched three bungeoppang snacks under its signature frozen food brand Bibigo. The lineup saw average monthly sales of 1 billion won last year. On the back of this performance, the company has included bungeoppang in its six key Korean street foods for Bibigo’s international market.
“Soaring market prices are moving street foods into homes as homemade products by popular brands and companies are increasingly emulating people’s favorite street foods,” an industry expert said. “This homemade fever will last for a while. But once the demands for street foods in these homemade versions peak, their prices will possibly start inching up.”
