$150 bingsu? South Korea's frozen treat melts wallets in summer heat

Despite steep prices, consumers are willing to shell out for small luxuries like the seasonal dessert even in a tightening economy.

- Wendy Teo

SEOUL - Imagine paying $150 for an ice kacang. While Singaporeans can beat the heat with an icy treat that costs around $3 on average, South Koreans are paying so much more for their version of the shaved ice dessert than before that they have coined a new term: bingsu-flation.

A portmanteau of the words bingsu and inflation, the term, which was coined in 2025 by the South Korean media, describes the rising prices of the frozen dessert, which hit new heights this summer.

This quintessentially Korean summer dessert, which makes its appearance in April or May as the heat begins to prickle, typically sees three price tiers.

The one-cup take-out version sold by coffee chains, ranging from 6,000 won (S$5.50) to 15,000 won, saw an average increase of 8.5 per cent in prices in 2025.

The cafe version, which is usually for sharing among two to four people, can cost anything from 20,000 won to 40,000 won.

The luxurious version served at hotels, where ever-rising prices are the talk of the town every summer, are priced around 100,000 won and more.

With this summer shaping up to be one of the most sweltering ever experienced in the country, the most expensive luxury bingsu made its debut at the end of May at the eye-watering price tag of 150,000 won.

The Belle Epoque Champagne Bingsu, offered by the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in the capital's affluent Gangnam district, is a collaboration between the hotel and the producer of the Perrier-Jouet brand of champagne.

It boasts of "silky avocado coconut ice cream atop soft milk ice flakes, delicately carved Tete de Moine cheese, and creamy slices of avocado", is topped with champagne spheres and granita, and is served in a specially designed bowl, says the hotel's description.