After living in Seoul for 8 months, I have had my fair share of convenience store experiences. They are everywhere, and are an integral part of Korean people’s everyday lives. Here are my favorite foods, snacks, medicines, and more! Better yet, these items are all under 5,000 won ($4.22).

Ice Cream

CookieO and World Cone

There’s a reason why I didn’t lose any weight while dancing for 3 hours a day and burning roughly 800 calories a night. It’s the affordability and accessibility of ice cream (my weakness!). These babies are anywhere from 1,000 won to 2,000 won ($0.84 to $1.69). THe World Cone and Cookie O are my favorite favorite FAVORITES. I don’t eat anything else.

Tip: Any cone ice cream is super inconsistent with the texture of the cone. Most of the time, the cone is soggy and has no crunch, which is terrible. I highly suggest gently pushing the cone to check the hardness before purchasing. I definitely care too much about this and need to calm down.

FOOD

Soy Sauce Butter Egg Kimbap BIIIH

In my area, this is a rare kimbap. I’ve only seen it once and that’s when I decided to try it. I’m so glad that I did. It’s SO FUKIN GOOD HOLY MUDAFUK. It’s CREAMY. It’s SALTY. It’s UMAMI. The littest kimbap I ever tasted. All for 1,000 won ($0.84). If you extra, it goes perfectly with a nice, hot ramen.

Shin Ramen

On the way home from dance class, I would stop by the convenience store. Sometimes, I like to treat myself and I would always go for ramen. The best dinner is this little Shin Ramen cup. It’s a delicious meal worth 900 won ($0.76)!!!!! The bigger size is worth only a few more cents as well. That’s cheaper than a small McDonald’s fries. It’s cheaper than any bag of chips in America. I’m blowing my own mind over here.

Hot Pepper Tuna

If you need to spice up your dinner, hot pepper tuna is your best friend. In my eyes, it’s a bit of a splurge item because the ramen is great on its own and the price is a bit high for a side dish 😂. It’s still less than 3,000 won ($2.50 in my memory).

Caffeine

Bacchus F Energy Drink

I’m the hardest Bacchus stan. It’s the greatest energy drink ever. It’s basically Red Bull but a fraction of the price, better tasting, and perfectly portioned. No American energy drink can touch this! Bacchus for life. Warning: Do not drink after 5 PM If you want to sleep at night!

Coffee

The coffee-addict/cafe-hopping life is definitely not sustainable day-to-day. If you want a nice Vanilla Cream Cold Brew from Starbucks, that’s a whopping 5,500 won! That’s an entire meal in Korea pls 😫🔥 . If you’re craving a nice cup of brew without hitting up a Starbucks, these pre-made coffees are the best things ever! They’re anywhere from 1,900-3,500 won.

OranC Soda: Pineapple and Calamansi

This is my favorite soda ever🔥. It’s sweet, but it tastes more balanced because of the amount of acidity in it. It’s so much fresher and lighter tasting than Sprite or Fanta. Also, it almost always comes 1+1 (Korea’s way of saying Buy One Get On Free), which we stan! There’s also an orange flavor, but I never get it because it’s never included in the deal for some reason lol.

Water Jelly

This jelly is made of Konjac, a root plant that’s also used to make shiratake noodles. It’s very low cal and high in fiber! They often market this as a meal replacement which is the biggest lie I ever heard. If anything, it’s a good snack to tide your hunger between meals or give you some energy before exercising. But hey, it tastes reallllly good. I recommend the Petitzel ones and the No Brand jellies as well!

Medicine

Pan Cold A

If you’re feeling shitty and you need something to survive the day, this is it! A shot of Acetaminophen, Caffeine, this drink tastes disgusting, but gives your body a boost of energy so that you won’t feel like dying. It’s so affordable and has saved my life many a time.

Snacks

Maple Corn Mudafuk

The perfect sweet chip. It’s airy and crispy and the pieces are huge. Tastes like rich maple syrup. Oh yeah.

Honey Butter Chip

A classic. It took the world by storm a few years ago and was sold out in every store in Korea for months. It’s completely overhyped, but I’m still a fan. The chip has a nice balance of sweet and salty and is the perfect snack.

Swing Chip: Hot

There’s nothing too special It’s just a really good, spicy-salty chip.

Jelly Day

This is the best jelly candy everrr. It’s the same exact thing as the Japanese PURE jellies. An amazing sweet grape taste covered in chunky sugar crystals. I can eat a whole bag. It’s dangerous.

Unsweetened Tea

This is an amazing treat after working out. It’s also great whenever lol. It has a tiny bit of sodium in it, which makes it so much more satisfying than just a water. And it’s so much healthier than an ice cream or a bag of chips.

Disclaimer: I don’t buy this certain one. I can’t find the one I always drink which is driving me insane.😱It’s a tea worth 2,000 won in a short but wide 0.5L container. If you find it, pls let me know.

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