A GUIDE TO THE KOREAN CONVENIENCE STORE
Imagine, walking down a busy street in Korea lit up with neon signs of convenience stores! Isn't it amazing? You can find convenience stores all over Korea. Believe it or not, you will find a convenience store in every corner. The distance between two convenience stores isn't long and you won't have to walk so far to get to one. The only country with a high percentage of convenience stores in comparison to its population is South Korea, which has over 40,000 convenience stores. These stores are the best example of the phrase: Many problems-one solution.
Hungry? Let's get some food,
Thirsty? Let's grab some water or drink,
Injured? Let's get medical supplies,
Raining? Let's buy an umbrella,
Forgot your school supplies? Let's get 'em.
Korean convenience stores have it all.
There are 5 prominent convenience store brands in Korea. These are referred to as the 'Big 5' in the industry. They are GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, E mart 24, and Ministop. Guess you would have heard about a few. Among the Big 5, GS25 was named the most popular convenience store brand as per a survey conducted in 2020.
Convenience stores are basically mini supermarkets. You will be able to fulfill all your daily necessities. How come? Let's dive deep into it.
TO EAT
First and foremost, Food. These stores offer varieties of delicious food. You can find both fresh and packed foods. You have enormous options at a fair price. They have varieties of ramen, tteokbokki, triangular kimbap, sandwiches, dosirak (lunch box), skewered sausage, and fish cakes. These are some of the must-tries when you're visiting Korean convenience stores so don't forget to try them.
You can also find different snacks and beverages. There are several snacks such as cakes, cookies, and ice cream that have surprising flavors like green tea, mint, and matcha. Soju, other alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, milk varieties, and flavored milk are also sold in convenience stores that you can never get enough of.
TO GET
Korean convenience stores also have groceries. They not only have food but also other necessities like hygiene products, beauty products, medicines, school supplies, electronics, cleaning supplies, and more.
TO DO
Korean convenience stores have places to sit, like mini restaurants. You can also do your work sitting there, sipping your juice, and enjoy the view outside! Haha. Just imagine yourself in a convenience store, it's drizzling outside, you are getting your hot ramen with extra cheese and your favorite drink, sitting by the window, listening to soothing music playing from your earphones and everything around you goes slow! Well, you got to try this during your visit to Korea. I sure will!
The prices of products in convenience stores are fair, neither too expensive nor too cheap. The average price of cup noodles ranges from ₩800 to ₩2500 and kimbap ranges from ₩800 to ₩1500. Other necessities too are priced to be average.
Korean convenience stores offer wifi connections. Currently, they also have fully automated smart stores in Korea where there are no employees. You just have to grab the items needed, scan the products and pay for them and that's it. Customers can enter the stores by scanning the BC Paybooc QR Code. A video-recognition system with a speaker will assist the customers. These stores are popular now in Korea as they are more efficient since they can save more time and are easier to use.
So do have visiting Korean convenience stores as one of the top things on your bucket list for your visit to Korea.