10 Must-Try Korea Convenience Store Foods!

1. Samgak Gimbap (Triangular Rice Ball)

Samgak Gimbap is a triangular-shaped gimbap that has rice and ingredients inside gim, the Korean name for edible seaweed. Koreans love to eat this when they want to have a simple meal. There are so many kinds with different fillings in it, such as tuna & mayo, ham & kimchi, garlic butter lobster, and so forth.

2. Dosirak (Lunch Box)

Nowadays, Korea sees a fierce competition in the ready-to-go Dosirak (lunch box) market because of the increasing number of single diners who want to finish their meals quickly. Among a number of popular lunch box brands, here is ‘Kim Hye-JA’s Dosirak’ which Koreans praise a lot for its comparatively low price for the quality it offers! There is also ‘Baek Jong-Won’s Dosirak’, which is trending these days in Korea.

3. Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cake)

If you want to try out addictive spicy Korean food, Tteokbokki is a must-try food! You can easily get Tteokbokki in the convenience stores without having to visit restaurants. It’s cheaper but tastes as good as the ones in the restaurants. Joss Tteokbokki with Sundae (pig’s intestines) from the GS25 convenience store or Garak Tteokbokki from CU convenience store are highly recommended!

4. Hot Bar (Skewered Sausage / Fish Cake)

Hot bar. Sounds strange, right?! Well, think of it as a chocolate bar, except these ‘hot bars’ take various shapes, from rectangular to round ones like sausages. You’ll find hot bars made of different ingredients such as pork, chicken, seafood, etc,. Rip off just a little bit of its cover and warm the bar in a microwave and take a bite. Yummy!

5. Instant Cup Noodles

Convenience stores are a heaven of instant cup noodles! There are so many kinds of cup noodles you can choose, including worldwide popular Shin Ramyun. If you want to try more special cup noodles that are popular among Koreans, Fried Chicken Noodles (bur-dark-bogg-eum-myeon) and Jjapaghetti are strongly recommended!

Fried Chicken Noodles are when known for its spiciness and many YouTubers used this for spiciness challenges. There are several more flavors rather than the original flavor, such as Carbonara, Jjajang (black bean sauce), Malatang (Chinese street food, originated in Sichuan), Cheese, Curry, and more.

Jjapaghetti is a Jjajang (black bean sauce) mixed with Korean ramyeon noodles. It became famous because of oscar-winning Korean movies, “Parasite”. In the movie, an actress Cho Yeo Jeong makes Jjapaguri, which is made by combining two highly popular instant noodle brands, which are Jjapaghetti and Neoguri Ramyeon. Why don’t you try making Jjapaguri with steak like in the movie?

6. K-Snacks

K-snacks are getting more popular these days, and you can find all kinds of trendiest chips, cookies, crackers at convenience stores in Korea. If you love chips, you should definitely taste Honey Butter Chip and Ggobuk Chip. Honey Butter Chip has the sweetness from the honey flavor but also has the salty flavor from the butter flavor. Ggobuk Chip‘s most popular flavor is Corn Flavor and there are 4 layers inside each chip that makes Ggobuk chip extra unique!

7. Gamdongran (Boiled Egg)

 Gamdongran is a boiled egg and there are 2 boiled eggs in one pack that are not fully cooked when boiled. If you try Gamdongran it is moist and salty which is different from boiled eggs you eat at home. It is a perfect snack that will make you have a full stomach!

8. Binggrae’s Banana Flavored Milk

Banana Flavored Milk (Banana Mat Milk) is a Korean milk beverage produced by Binggrae. It was introduced in 1974 and has been one of the most popular drinks among Koreans. There are a variety of flavors, such as strawberry, banana light, melon, coffee, and chocolate.

9. Hobbang (Steamed Bun Cake)

Hobbang (steamed bun cake) is a warm snack that is sold through Korea every winter. They are sold at convenience stores in winter and the original flavor is filled with smooth and sweetened red bean paste. There are other kinds of fillings as well, including pizza, pumpkin & cream cheese, spicy fried chicken & cheese, and many more!

10. Soju

Fruit Soju is a flavored form of soju, a representative alcoholic drink in Korea. One of the most popular fruit soju is Jamongisle, a grapefruit-flavored soju, released by Chamisle. There is also green grape-flavored soju. If you want to try Soju but feel like it’s too strong for you, try out fruit soju instead!