After Dubai chewy cookies, a chocolate dessert stuffed with pistachio cream and crunchy kadayif pastry, took Korea’s social feeds by storm in late 2025, Kim Min-sun, an office worker in Seoul, decided to try making the treat herself. “When I checked online for the ingredients, the prices were about 1.5 times what I remembered, and some were sold out with delivery taking up to two weeks,” Kim said. “So I gave up.” She later attempted another viral dish, “bomdong bibimbap” (rice with seasoned spring cabbage). But after she brought the cabbage home, her mother, a more seasoned grocery shopper, pointed out that the price was higher than usual. As viral food trends sweep across Korean social feeds and kitchens, the key ingredients behind those dishes have swung in price. Primary ingredients for Dubai chewy cookies and bomdong bibimbap — dishes that spread rapidly through short-form videos in recent months — have recorded sharp price increases, according to the Korea Price Information (KPI), a price monitoring agency. For Dubai chewy cookies, 500 grams of kadayif rose from 18,