South Korean inflation has been far lower than the U.S. for much of the past 18 months, but it’s now starting to catch up, hitting 5.4% in the month of May. 

While inflation in the U.S. has resulted from a post-pandemic uptick in demand, South Korea (as well as the Eurozone) is struggling with inflation due to external supply chain issues and price increases connected to the war in Ukraine.

Less excess savings and pent-up demand in South Korea has resulted in a far slower increase in inflation than in the U.S. But now inflation is spiking all the same,