No US trip needed: Dollar-priced menus are hitting Koreans at home

Menus from Noryangjin101, left, and Viking’s Wharf show prices listed in U.S. dollars, a practice that has become costlier for diners as the won weakens. Captured from Naver blog

Koreans don’t need to take a trip to the U.S. to experience the pain of a weak won. A few restaurants at home already charge in U.S. dollars, turning a $110 buffet into a splurge of more than 160,000 won and giving diners a taste of American-style sticker shock without ever leaving Seoul.

At the handful of restaurants that price their meals in dollars, the won’s slide has simply made those figures feel heavier. The menu hasn’t changed, but the exchange rate has, pushing meals that already leaned pricey into noticeably more expensive territory for locals.

Among the small group of establishments that rely on dollar-based pricing are seafood buffets like Viking’s Wharf — known for its $110 buffet — and Crab52, where dinner runs $200 per person, as well as Noryangjin101, a high-end spot that opened earlier this year in Seoul’s fish market district.

All three have been listing their prices in U.S. dollars, a practice the company says stems from relying heavily on imported seafood, whose costs are tied to global markets.

Notably, the restaurants belong to the same parent company, which launched Noryangjin101 with the same U.S.-dollar pricing model despite the weaker won. The expansion suggests the approach continues to draw customers, even as some Koreans say the bills feel steeper now than they once did.

Online, renewed attention on these establishments has sparked mixed reactions. Some diners say the sticker shock is inevitable given the currency swings, while others argue that dollar-denominated menus feel increasingly out of sync with local spending power.

“It used to be closer to 100,000 won a few years ago, but now it’s closer to 200,000 won,” one commenter wrote on a Naver blog post. “It feels like I’m paying L.A. prices in Seoul.”

Experts say the model makes sense for businesses dependent on imported seafood, much of which is purchased in U.S. dollars. In periods when the won strengthens, the pricing can even make the restaurants seem competitive.

But with the dollar at some of its strongest levels in years, the gap between the posted price and the actual won cost has widened enough for locals to take notice. A $110 meal that once hovered near 130,000 won now sits far higher, depending on the day’s exchange rate.