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It is wedding season in Korea as spring rolls into summer.

Here it is customary for people to give cash as a gift commonly based on the price of the meal provided at the wedding. But how much to give comes as a complicated issue for some as prolonged inflation weakens individuals' spending power.

An office worker surnamed Kim said he received three wedding invitations for May and the coming months. Two of them are from friends and one is from a co-worker.

“I want to congratulate all of them. I plan to give cash as a gift to my two friends, but I'm unsure about giving a gift to the co-worker who I'm not as close with,” Kim said.

He received 100,000 won ($74) from each of the two friends when he got married seven years ago. He didn't receive anything from the co-worker at the time.

“I thought 100,000 won was not small at the time, but nowadays , everything is so expensive, including food and venue costs. I'll probably make it at least 150,000 won or higher.”

While how much to give has always been a dilemma among calculating Koreans, the rising cost of food, dining out and wedding services have made figuring out the gift amount an even greater conundrum.

The cost of renting wedding halls in Seoul varies, usually coming in at between 6 million won and 14 million won. Hotels may charge over 30 million won.

The cost of food per person now averages over 80,000 won, while the price goes up to about 200,000 won at hotels.

These are nearly triple the costs of a decade ago.

According to a Korea Consumer Agency report in 2013, the cost of wedding meals was 33,000 won per person and wedding venue rental cost was about 3 million won.

Wedding hall rental costs rose sharply from the time the COVID-19 pandemic began, when many wedding hall operators were forced to shut down due to government restrictions on large gatherings.

Online debates over the adequate amount of the congratulatory money are common.

“Those paying 50,000 won simply should not come,” one comment read on an online community. “Per-person food costs are nearly 100,000 won, and paying only 50,000 won to come and have a nice meal is just rude.”

Others commented that 100,000 won 10 years ago and now simply do not have the same value.

“Everything is almost twice as expensive, or more, compared to 10 years ago because of inflation. Wedding guests should be mindful of that,” an online community member said.

According to a Shinhan Bank survey of 10,000 people aged between 20 and 64 released last month, over 21 percent of the respondents said they declined to attend weddings out of financial pressure due to cash gifts.

About 24 percent of the 20-29 age group and 17 percent in the 30-39 age group said they cannot afford the customary offering of cash as a gift.

A separate survey of 1,000 married men and women by Gayeon, a marriage consultancy, showed nearly 63 million won was needed to organize a wedding.

More couples nowadays are opting for a small wedding with only family and a handful of close friends in attendance.

According to a survey by marriage consultancy Duo released in December last year, over 81 percent of men and 76 percent of women said they were willing to have a small wedding.