Eat together, pay less: Rising prices fuel meetups where Koreans split bills

Malatang, a spicy Chinese hot pot dish / gettyimagesbank

A 25-year-old woman surnamed Park, who lives in Seoul's Guro District, recently met with people she connected with online to share a meal of "malatang," a Chinese spicy hot pot dish popular among young Koreans.

She found the group on Danggeun Market, a mobile platform for secondhand trading and local community activities.

"It's expensive to eat malatang alone, especially when I want to order side dishes like sweet and sour pork or fried eggplant," Park said. "I was initially looking for one person, but two people responded to my post, so the three of us ended up going together."

Posts on Danggeun Market app looking for people to split tteokbokki orders / Screenshot from Danggeun Market

The three split the bill evenly, paying about 13,000 won ($9) each, which Park said was much cheaper than eating alone, given the added cost of side dishes.

Meeting new people online to share meals and split costs appears to be a growing trend among young Koreans, as rising food prices weigh on their wallets.

On Danggeun Market, a group of residents in Seoul's Songpa District seeking to share tteokbokki has attracted more than 250 members. The spicy rice cake dish is typically portioned for two to three people, making it less practical for those dining alone.

Posts in such groups often specify exact times and meeting places, with users uploading posts such as, "Looking for three or four people who prefer milder flavors," or "Let's order delivery and split it into separate containers."

The trend appears to build on an existing culture of sharing the cost of bulk purchases at warehouse retailers such as Costco Wholesale and Trader's Wholesale Club.

In recent years, single-person households have increasingly turned to online communities to find others to join them in buying bulk items that would be too large to manage alone.

Participants meet, shop and divide a range of goods, including toilet paper, snacks, fresh fruit and cleaning supplies.

Rising food costs are also pushing people to seek alternative ways to save on meals, including bringing lunch from home. Meal prep-related content has gained popularity on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, where users share cost-saving recipes and tips.

A 26-year-old office worker surnamed Lee in Jung District, Seoul, said she brings her own lunches, such as sandwiches or leftovers from home, about three times a week.

"With this, I can save around 80,000 to 100,000 won a month, which is quite significant at a time when everything is expensive," Lee said.

Such cost-cutting efforts come as consumer prices continue to rise.

Korea's consumer prices rose 2.2 percent in March from a year earlier, marking the steepest year-on-year increase since December, when inflation stood at 2.3 percent, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The increase was driven by higher global oil prices amid prolonged tensions in the Middle East.

According to data from the Korea Consumer Agency, the average price of gimbap (rice and fillings rolled inside seaweed), long considered an affordable staple, stood at 3,800 won in March, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier. The cost per serving of bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables) averaged 11,615 won, while samgyeopsal (pork belly) came in at 21,218 won per serving and kalguksu (noodle soup) cost 10,038 won per bowl.