The list
These are the best sellers with foreign tourists at Lotte Mart Zettaplex Seoul Station, the supermarket at Seoul Station, from January to May in 2025 and 2026, as reported by Korean newspapers. Foreign shoppers make up about 40% of the store’s sales. It is one store, not a national ranking.
| Snack | What it is | With foreign shoppers | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orion Bichobi — Korea edition오리온 비쵸비 (코리아 에디션) | Whole-wheat biscuits sandwiching a bar of hazelnut chocolate (launched 2022). The Korea edition box is made for visitors. | No. 1 with foreign shoppers in 9 of the 10 months counted (January–May 2025 and 2026). | Marts and convenience storesSee on Coupang |
| Paldo & Yangban Seaweed Soup Ramyeon팔도&양반 미역국라면 | Instant noodles in a seaweed-soup broth made with clams and mussels. Contains shellfish. | No. 1 in January 2026, No. 2 in March, No. 3 in April and No. 5 in May. | Lotte Mart and Lotte Super (launched there as an exclusive, November 2024)See on Coupang |
| Dongwon Yangban Gimbugak (seaweed chips)동원 양반 김부각 | Sheets of seaweed coated in sticky-rice batter and fried — crunchy and lightly salty. | In the top 10 in both years — No. 6 in April 2026. | MartsSee on Coupang |
| Orion Yegam “Jjikmeok” chips with garlic & cheongyang-chilli mayo오리온 찍먹예감 갈릭청양마요소스맛 | Chips that come with a dipping sauce in the pack — 찍먹 means “dip and eat”. | No. 5 in March and April 2026, No. 7 in May. | Marts and convenience storesSee on Coupang |
| Haitai Jagabee — seasoned seaweed flavour해태 자가비 특기름김맛 | Crunchy sticks of fried fresh potato, here in a seasoned-seaweed (gim) flavour. | No. 12 in April 2026, then No. 4 in May. | Marts and convenience stores |
| Nongshim Ppangbujang농심 빵부장 | A crunchy snack shaped and flavoured like bread — salt bread, chocolate and matcha versions. | Stayed near the top in 2025 and 2026. | Marts and convenience storesSee on Coupang |
| Lotte Zero Fruit Jelly롯데 제로 후르츠젤리 | Sugar-free fruit jellies from Lotte’s “Zero” range. | Stayed near the top in 2025 and 2026. | Marts and convenience storesSee on Coupang |
| HBAF Honey Butter AlmondsHBAF 허니버터아몬드 | Almonds in a sweet honey-butter coating; the brand makes many other flavours, wasabi among them. | Stayed near the top in 2025 and 2026. | Marts, convenience stores and airport shopsSee on Coupang |
| Binggrae Banana Milk빙그레 바나나맛우유 | The classic banana-flavoured milk in a squat, jar-shaped bottle. | A top seller with foreign shoppers in 2025. | Convenience stores everywhereSee on Coupang |
In 2025 the top of the list was sweet: chocolate biscuits, rice crackers (Milk Classic), almonds, fruit jelly and banana milk. In 2026 savoury snacks with Korean flavours climbed up — seaweed soup ramyeon, seaweed chips and seaweed-flavoured Jagabee.
At the convenience store
- Banana milk (바나나맛우유) is the classic. At GS25, from January to August 2026, a blueberry Greek yogurt overtook it as the No. 1 food with Chinese-speaking shoppers.
- Dubai chewy cookie (두쫀쿠, dujjonku) was No. 3 with the same shoppers: pistachio cream and kadayif (crisp shredded pastry) wrapped in a chewy cocoa-marshmallow dough. It is a Korean invention inspired by “Dubai chocolate”, and the craze of winter 2025–26.
- Posts on Xiaohongshu (RedNote) recommend Binggrae strawberry milk, Ottogi Sesame Ramen and HBAF wasabi almonds, Seoul Economic Daily reported in June 2026.
More in the convenience store guide.
Where to buy
- Big supermarkets such as Lotte Mart and Emart have the widest choice and family-size packs. The seaweed soup ramyeon was launched as a Lotte Mart and Lotte Super exclusive in November 2024, so look there first.
- Convenience stores carry the best-known snacks in smaller packs, open late.
- Tax refund: many big stores offer tax-free shopping to tourists — look for a “Tax Free” sign and bring your passport.
Taking them home
- Check your own country’s customs rules before you pack food. Many countries restrict meat products, and some ramyeon soup packets contain meat or meat extract — read the ingredients (원재료명; see the label words).
- The seaweed soup ramyeon contains shellfish (clams and mussels).
- Can’t find them at home? Orion said in September 2026 that Bichobi would go on sale at all Costco stores in Japan from October 2026, with US Costco planned for early 2027.
Ordering from Coupang
At a July 2026 event in Seoul’s Seongsu district, Coupang, Korea’s biggest online shop, told visitors that short-stay foreigners can now sign up without a Korean phone number or alien registration card, pay with an overseas card and have orders delivered to where they stay, if the hotel accepts parcels (Newsis, 2 August 2026). Guides written in August still report sign-up failing without a Korean number, so try it before you count on it.
If you live in Korea or your sign-up works, the “See on Coupang” links in the table above go to each snack on Coupang. The banners below are Coupang’s own, with Korean labels; check the price and stock there. The seaweed-flavoured Jagabee was not listed on Coupang in October 2026.
Sources
- Korea Economic Daily — what foreign tourists buy at Lotte Mart Seoul Station (19 Jun 2026)
- Seoul Economic Daily — foreign tourists’ convenience store and mart shopping (21 Jun 2026)
- WikiTree — ramyeon as a souvenir; GS25 and CU foreign sales (11 Aug 2026)
- News1 — Lotte Mart foreign shoppers and sales (15 Jan 2026)
- Sateconomy — Orion Bichobi sales in tourist areas; Costco Japan and US (16 Sep 2026)
- WikiTree — Bichobi, 33 million sold (13 Sep 2026)
- NewDaily — Paldo & Yangban seaweed soup ramyeon launched at Lotte Mart (14 Nov 2024)
- Seoul Economic Daily — seaweed soup ramyeon launch (14 Nov 2024)
- Korea Economic Daily — Orion “jjikmeok” dip snacks (9 Sep 2025)
- iNews24 — Haitai Jagabee potato sticks (19 Feb 2013)
- Smart Today — Nongshim Ppangbujang matcha bread, after salt and chocolate bread
- MTN — GS25 foreign customer sales, January–August 2026 (1 Oct 2026)
- Digital Times — what the Dubai chewy cookie (dujjonku) is (4 Jan 2026)
- Herald — the BBC on Korea’s Dubai chewy cookie craze (15 Jan 2026)
- Newsis — Coupang’s service for foreign visitors in Seongsu (2 Aug 2026)
- Lacha — using Coupang as a foreigner (updated 3 Aug 2026)
Quick answers
What snacks do tourists buy in Korea?
At Lotte Mart Seoul Station, the top sellers with foreign tourists in January–May 2025 and 2026 were Orion Bichobi (Korea edition), Paldo & Yangban seaweed soup ramyeon, Yangban gimbugak seaweed chips, Orion Yegam dip-and-eat chips, Haitai Jagabee (seaweed flavour), Nongshim Ppangbujang, Lotte Zero fruit jelly and HBAF honey butter almonds. It is one store, not a national ranking.
What is Bichobi?
An Orion snack launched in 2022: a bar of hazelnut chocolate between two whole-wheat biscuits. The Korea edition comes in a box made for visitors.
Where can I buy seaweed soup ramyeon?
Look in Lotte Mart and Lotte Super: it was made with Paldo and Dongwon Yangban and launched there as an exclusive in November 2024. It contains clams and mussels.
What is a Dubai chewy cookie (dujjonku)?
A Korean dessert inspired by Dubai chocolate: pistachio cream and kadayif (shredded pastry) wrapped in a chewy cocoa-marshmallow dough. It was the craze of winter 2025–26, and convenience stores sell their own versions.
Can tourists order from Coupang?
Coupang told visitors in July 2026 that short-stay foreigners can sign up without a Korean phone number and pay with an overseas card, but guides written in August still report sign-up failing without a Korean number. Try it before you count on it.