These days, quite a few restaurant districts are seeing a drop in customer traffic.

With sweltering heat reducing the floating population,

[Restaurant Operator: There are no customers even during the peak lunch hour. In terms of the number of tables, we should be seating about 40 tables at lunch, but now, excluding takeout, we are getting fewer than 25...]

Consumers are cutting back on dining out due to the burden of high prices.

[Oh Jun-seok / College Student: I feel that the rise in living costs is somewhat noticeable, so I end up cooking and eating at home...]

As high inflation drives an increase in so-called staying-at-home consumption, more people are looking for simple meals they can enjoy at home.

While home-meal replacements used to focus mainly on instant rice, dumplings, or stew meal kits, nowadays the options range from yurinki and steaks to dishes directly created by famous chefs.

Although product categories have expanded and overlapping effects from the Middle East conflict have pushed up the prices of simple meals, sales continue to rise, driven by the advantage that they are still more attractive than dining out.

Recently, a trend of sharing one's own recipes for simple meals is also spreading.

[Lim Geun-woo / Sinjeong-dong, Yangcheon-gu: The quality of (simple meals) has definitely improved a lot compared to the past. By making slight changes in how they are cooked, you can try them out in more delicious and diverse ways...]

Recipes combining rice, ramen, and simple meals in various ways are becoming hot topics on social media, sometimes even leading to actual product launches.

[Jeon Mi-young / CEO, Trend Korea Company: Since (domestic dining-out costs) are not low, people are making smart choices by comparing the price of cooking at home with a little effort versus the price of eating out. The more competitive quality becomes, the more consumers will inevitably flow into the (simple meal) market...]

The simple meal market, which was once evaluated as entering a mature phase, is projected to grow to 7.5 trillion won this year as rising dining-out costs combine with trends and entertainment.

Just a quick meal? The shifting trend of customizing meals to one's taste (August 16, 2026, 8 News)

(Reported by Chae Hee-sun | Produced by Bae Jun-휘 | Video by Lee Sang-min | VJ: Jeong Han-wook | Produced by SBS Digital News)