Best Korean Snacks to Try & Buy: 20 Iconic Picks Worth Seeking Out

Korean snacks have gone global. Thanks to K-dramas, K-pop, and a wave of viral mukbang videos, the best korean snacks are no longer something you can only find in Seoul — they line the shelves of Korean grocery stores from Los Angeles to London, and they’re a few taps away online. But with hundreds of options, where do you start?

This guide covers 20 of the most iconic Korean snacks worth seeking out, whether you’re shopping a convenience-store aisle in Seoul, raiding the snack section at your local H Mart, or building an order from your couch. For each one, you’ll get what it actually tastes like, why it’s beloved, and how to find it. New to the cuisine more broadly? Start with our complete guide to Korean food.

Quick List: The Best Korean Snacks at a Glance

Short on time? These are the non-negotiables — the snacks that define Korean snacking and the ones most newcomers fall for first:

• Honey Butter Chips — the sweet-and-savory potato chip that sparked a national craze
• Pepero — chocolate-dipped biscuit sticks with a holiday named after them
• Choco Pie — marshmallow-filled chocolate cakes, a lunchbox classic since the 1970s
• Tteokbokki — chewy rice cakes in sweet-spicy chili sauce
• Hotteok — warm, gooey sweet pancakes
• Bungeoppang — crispy fish-shaped pastries filled with red bean or custard

Every one is explained below, grouped by where it shines: the convenience store, the street, and the traditional gift box.

The Best Korean Snacks from the Convenience Store

Korea’s convenience stores — CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, and Emart24 — are a snack universe unto themselves. Open 24 hours and on practically every block, they carry the packaged classics that travel best and are the easiest to track down abroad. These are the shelf staples worth knowing.

Honey Butter Chips

When Haitai launched Honey Butter Chips in 2014, they triggered a genuine national shortage — bags resold at a premium, and finding one became a small social flex. The mix of sweet honey glaze and buttery richness on a thin potato chip is still addictive a decade later. If you try one packaged Korean snack, make it this.

Pepero

Korea’s answer to Pocky: thin biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate, with strawberry, almond, and white-chocolate versions. They’re so woven into the culture that November 11th is “Pepero Day,” when people exchange the sticks as a gesture of affection — the date looks like four Pepero standing in a row (11/11). The original chocolate and the almond version are the safest first buys.

Choco Pie

A soft marshmallow center sandwiched between two chocolate-coated cake rounds. Orion’s Choco Pie has been a Korean comfort-snack icon since 1974 and remains one of the country’s most-loved treats — individually wrapped, lunchbox-friendly, and impossible to eat just one of.

Saewookkang (새우깡)

Light, crispy shrimp-flavored crackers that are one of Korea’s oldest and most beloved snacks. The savory, faintly sweet shrimp taste is wildly moreish, and the long red bag is instantly recognizable to any Korean household.

Turtle Chips (꼬북칩)

A four-layered corn chip — named for its turtle-shell ridges — that went viral for its impossibly airy crunch. The sweet corn-soup and choco-churro flavors are the cult favorites.

Banana Kick

Puffed corn snacks shaped like little bananas, with a surprisingly intense (and nostalgic) banana flavor that somehow just works. Light, airy, and a favorite across generations.

Choco Songi (초코송이)

Bite-sized mushroom-shaped cookies — a crunchy biscuit “stem” capped with chocolate. They’re as cute as they are moreish, and because they’re sturdily packaged they’re one of the better Korean snacks to bring home or ship.

Ppeong-i-yo (뻥이요)

Big, airy puffed-rice rounds that shatter into a clean, light crunch. They come in lightly sweet and savory versions and are the kind of low-key snack Koreans grab to go with a convenience-store iced coffee.

Sweet & Savory Korean Street Snacks

These are the snacks built to eat fresh and standing up. If you make it to Korea, eat them hot from a stall — but many now come in instant or frozen versions you can find at Korean grocers abroad, too.

Tteokbokki (떡볶이)

Maybe the most iconic Korean snack of all: chewy cylindrical rice cakes simmered in a glossy, sweet-and-spicy gochujang (chili paste) sauce, often with fish cakes and boiled egg. It’s genuinely spicy for many first-timers. Instant tteokbokki cups are sold widely abroad if you want to try it at home.

Hotteok (호떡)

A griddled pancake with a crisp, chewy exterior and a molten filling of brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts. It’s a cold-weather street staple — and one bite of the hot sugar filling will teach you to wait a few seconds before diving in. Just-add-water hotteok kits exist for home cooks.

Bungeoppang (붕어빵)

Adorable fish-shaped pastries with a light, slightly crisp batter and a sweet red-bean or custard filling. They’re a winter icon in Korea, reliably found from autumn through early spring.

Gyeran-ppang (계란빵)

“Egg bread” — a small, fluffy loaf with a whole egg baked right into the top. Warm, lightly sweet, and savory all at once, it’s the ultimate cold-weather walking breakfast.

Tornado Potato

A whole potato spiralized onto a skewer, deep-fried golden, and dusted with cheese, spicy, or original seasoning. It’s as fun to hold as it is to eat — pure street-food theater.

Gimbap (김밥)

Often compared to sushi rolls but distinctly Korean: sesame-oil-seasoned rice, vegetables, egg, and pickled radish wrapped in dried seaweed. It’s portable, filling, and sold everywhere — the ultimate Korean grab-and-go.

You’ll find the freshest versions of these at Seoul’s street-food hubs — our Myeongdong street food guide maps out a tasting route so you don’t fill up on the first stall.

Traditional Korean Snacks & Sweets (Hangwa)

Beyond the modern packaged stuff sits hangwa — Korea’s traditional confections. They’re elegant, they keep well, and they make some of the best Korean snacks to give as gifts.

Yakgwa (약과)

A deep-fried honey cookie, soft and chewy with floral honey-and-ginger notes. Once a special-occasion sweet, yakgwa has had a major revival with younger Koreans and now turns up in cafes and gift boxes everywhere.

Yaksik (약식)

A dense, sticky sweet rice cake studded with dates, chestnuts, and pine nuts in a glossy soy-sweet glaze. Sold vacuum-packed in traditional markets and department-store food halls.

Dasik (다식)

Pressed rice-flour, sesame, or bean-powder confections stamped with delicate traditional patterns. Served at formal tea ceremonies and sold in beautiful gift boxes — as photogenic as they are edible.

Ssal Gangjeong (쌀강정)

Puffed rice bound with honey and sesame, a little like a rice-crispy treat but with a distinctly Korean, nutty-sweet profile. Sold loose by weight at markets and pre-packed for gifting.

Dalgona (달고나)

The honeycomb sugar candy made famous worldwide by Squid Game. A spoonful of melted sugar and baking soda sets into a brittle disc, often stamped with a shape you’re challenged to break out cleanly. Pure nostalgic street candy.

Gyeongju Bread (경주빵)

Thin, red-bean-filled shortbread pastries that are the signature souvenir food of Gyeongju. Vacuum-packed versions travel well if you’re picking some up on a trip.

For the widest spread of traditional sweets and market snacks in one place, Seoul’s century-old Gwangjang Market is hard to beat — see our Gwangjang Market food guide for what to look for. In summer, don’t overlook bingsu, the mountainous shaved-ice dessert that’s a snack in its own right — we rounded up the best bingsu cafes in Seoul separately.

Where to Buy the Best Korean Snacks

In Korea: Convenience stores (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, Emart24) carry the packaged classics, and prices are standardized nationally — a bag of Honey Butter Chips costs the same in Gangnam as in a rural town, so there’s no need to stock up in one place. For fresh street snacks and traditional sweets, head to the traditional markets; for premium gift sets, the basement food halls of department stores (Shinsegae, Lotte, Hyundai) are beautifully packaged and often a clear step up from tourist-strip souvenir shops. For official food-district and market information, Seoul’s tourism authority maintains Seoul’s official tourism site.

Abroad: Korean and Asian supermarkets — H Mart across the US and Canada, plus countless local Asian grocers in the UK and Australia — stock most of the convenience-store snacks on this list. Many are also available online, which is the easiest route if you don’t have a Korean grocery nearby. (We’ll add tested product picks here over time.)

Tips for First-Time Korean Snack Shoppers

• Start with the convenience-store classics. Honey Butter Chips, Pepero, and Choco Pie are the friendliest entry points and the easiest to find anywhere.
• Mind the spice. Most packaged snacks aren’t spicy at all, but tteokbokki and many ramen-style snacks are. If you’re spice-sensitive, check the packaging.
• Check the food hall, not just the souvenir shop. Department-store B1 floors carry premium snack gift sets that beat the tourist-area shelves.
• Know the customs rules before you fly. Commercially sealed, shelf-stable snacks (chips, cookies, Choco Pies) are generally fine to bring home in checked luggage, but fresh or homemade items like market rice cakes may be restricted. Australia and New Zealand are especially strict — check your country’s biosecurity rules before packing.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Korean Snacks

What are the most popular Korean snacks?

The most universally loved are Honey Butter Chips, Pepero, and Choco Pie among packaged snacks, and tteokbokki, hotteok, and bungeoppang among street snacks. All are widely available and a safe place to start.

Where can I buy Korean snacks outside Korea?

Korean and Asian supermarkets such as H Mart (US and Canada) stock most of the packaged snacks on this list, and many are available online. In Korea itself, any convenience store — CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, or Emart24 — carries the classics.

Are Korean snacks very spicy?

Some are, most aren’t. Tteokbokki and spicy ramen-style snacks pack real heat, but chips, cookies, choco pies, and traditional sweets are not spicy at all.

Which Korean snacks are best to bring home as gifts?

Sturdily packaged items travel best: Choco Pie, Pepero, Choco Songi, and traditional hangwa like yakgwa, dasik, or ssal gangjeong in gift boxes. Skip fresh market rice cakes, which don’t keep.

Are any Korean snacks vegan-friendly?

Several are — dasik, ssal gangjeong, many rice crackers, and most fruit-flavored candies — but always check the label. Korean packaging marks milk as 우유 (uyu) and egg as 계란 (gyeran).

What’s the one Korean snack I should try first?

Honey Butter Chips. They’re the snack that turned Korean convenience-store culture into a global obsession, and they’re easy to find almost anywhere.

Disclosure: SeoulScope is a participant in the Klook and Agoda affiliate programs and the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We may earn a small commission when you book or buy through links in this post, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend experiences and products we believe will genuinely help your trip.