7-Eleven convenience stores are a big business in South Korea – explore most streets or neighbourhoods and you’ll come across at least one small store (if not two or three within the same block).
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There are lots of different convenience store brands to choose from in South Korea including CU stores, FamilyMart and E-Mart but one of the most popular remains 7-Eleven.
7-Eleven in South Korea has been around for over 30 years, with the first store opening at the Olympic Village in Seoul in 1989. There are now over 11,000 (!) 7-Eleven stores in the Republic of Korea; worldwide, only Thailand and Japan have more than South Korea.
Visiting 7-Elevens in South Korea became a fascination of ours (slight obsession even), trying all the various foods and drinks available. Handily, all Korean 7-Elevens have microwave or hot water sections meaning you can prepare any food you’ve bought (making them very ‘convenient’ stores).
From banana milk to bento boxes and fried chicken to soju, this is our guide to 7-Elevens in South Korea and all the food and drink you can buy.
This article was originally published on cktravels.com on 31 January 2023.
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What you can find at 7-Eleven Stores in South Korea
1. K-Ramyun / Instant Noodles
Ramen noodles have dedicated sections in South Korean 7-Elevens – you can usually find a dedicated aisle chock full of choice ramyeon flavours like sriracha, tteokbokki and fried chicken.
Popular brands include Nongshim (농심) and Samyang Foods (삼양식품).
Even better, most 7-Elevens in South Korea include either a hot water vat / urn or plumbed system where you pour boiling hot water on your noodle pots and then slurp away in the store or on the go.
Lately on our recent visits to South Korea, we’ve noticed a growing number of 7-Elevens and convenience stores with K-Ramyun / ‘ramyeon museums’ inside.
These are basically a special area with ramen cup style tables, special automated cooker machines with count down timers and just lots of choice. This is a very cheap Korean style dinner and fun to make too.
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2. Bento Boxes (Dosirak)
Bento boxes are a big thing at 7-Eleven South Korea – literally! These huge boxes come in a variety of flavours with a huge assortment of sides like pickles, soft boiled eggs, fishcakes and kimchi plus loads of rice to accompany your main dish.
From chicken cutlets to spicy pork, bento boxes are a mainstay of Korean 7-Elevens and often have shelf upon shelf of choices.
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3. Kimchi
We used to buy kimchi regularly from the Korean shops in London so no small wonder it is widely available to buy and take home in sealed foil packets to cook as you wish.
This bright red and spicy pickled cabbage dish is a Korean mainstay and served as a side / garnish with lots of meals including the bento boxes available in 7-Elevens in South Korea.
You can find popular brands here such as Bibigo and Jongga.
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4. Hot Bar
Meat and fish on sticks are a very popular and inexpensive snack in 7-Elevens and at street-food market stalls in Seoul.
At 7-Eleven in South Korea, you find a whole ‘hot bar (usually by the counter so staff can regularly replenish it) with all manner of hot meats on sticks like fish balls and sausages, usually served with spicy sausages.
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5. Fruit Sandwiches
Forget cheese and ham or chicken mayo; South Korean sandwiches do come in savoury varieties but you can also get sweet sandwiches at 7-Eleven. One such sandwich was a Jeju milk sandwich with grapes and tangerine. We also saw strawberry sandwiches too.
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6. Crisps / Potato Chips
Here at South Korea Hallyu, we are big fans of working our way through crisp flavours whilst exploring convenience stores.
South Korean 7-Elevens are no different with aisle upon aisle of crisp flavours and different styles of crisps.
One of our favourites (and most popular in South Korea) is the shrimp flavour which tastes just like prawn crackers. Delicious (but not ideal in small, confined hotel rooms!). We also liked the Sindang-dong tteokbokki snack crisps.
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7. Banana Milk (Binggrae)
Bangin’ banana milk (Binggrae) is super popular in South Korea, particularly with the young.
We tried South Korean banana milk a few times as it is very refreshing after the spicier kimchi dishes some street food stalls produce – but this particular banana milk reminds us so much of Nesquik banana powder milk (which isn’t a bad thing).
The bigger Korean 7-Eleven branches often have a dedicated binggrae fridge with different flavours like strawberry and melon – or you can combine banana milk with hot coffee and ice to create a banana milk latte!
Read more about banana milk in our guide >
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8. Iced Coffees and Teas
Iced coffee (and coffee in general) is popular in South Korea, although often weaker than what you’d get in the west unless you go to a multinational like Starbucks.
Canned / cold coffee is big here, often with a dedicated fridge in 7-Eleven just for cold coffees and teas. Expect to pay around 1,000 Korean Won for a small can of coffee such as Lotte mild mocha.
You’ll also often see pouches of flavoured tea and coffee above a freezer that is full of cups of ice. Mixed together they make a quick DIY iced tea or coffee!
9. Korean Fried Chicken
Fried chicken (often accompanied with cold beer) is synonymous with South Korea, and so many 7-Elevens have dedicated hot fried chicken cabinets with various flavours (often spicy).
If we are being honest, convenience store fried chicken in Korea is OK but given the country is so famous for it, the freshly cooked fried chicken in restaurants is much better.
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10. Ice Cream
It can get hot in Korea in the summer months so it is a relief that 7-Eleven South Korea has a huge range of frozen favourites in the ice-cream cabinet.
Lotte Ghana chocolate ice-creams seemed to be the most widely available, a spin off of the popular choccy bar range.
A lot of convenience stores do multi-buy deals on ice-creams where if say you buy 2, you get a third free or money off.
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11. Chocolate
Dozens of chocolate bar flavours are available in store but we were addicted to Crunky chocolate which is available in many forms and flavours, containing chocolate bits. The Crunky cookies and cream bar is one of the best tasting chocolate bars we’ve ever tried.
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12. Plastic Wrapped Sausages
We aren’t sure if we’ve used the right term but these are packaged meat like chicken or pork bought cold that are served in rolled up plastic packages, a little like saveloy sausages or pate (which can also be microwaved).
Kept in the refrigerated sections with descriptions like ‘mini Vienna sausage, these were one of the few foods on this 7-Eleven in South Korea that we didn’t try ourselves so can’t really comment on their consistency or taste (next time).
13. SPAM
So we know SPAM used to be popular in lots of places, but we were quite surprised to see lots of SPAM products in 7-Eleven stores in South Korea. We aren’t just talking about the tinned cans of original SPAM – we are talking SPAM fritters, SPAM luncheon boxes etc – SPAMALOT!
14. Refrigerated Salads at 7-Eleven in South Korea
Whilst 7-Elevens don’t generally have dedicated salad bars, they do have extensive salad selections in South Korea like green leaves with grilled chicken breast salad and an almond soy milk dressing.
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15. Soft Boiled / Salted Eggs
An eggs-cellent (sorry not sorry) choice of snack and source of protein from 7-Eleven South Korea, these pre-packed free range salted eggs can be found in most chiller sections and are pretty cheap (cheap). Don’t be a ‘chicken’ and try one on your next visit.
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16. Hot Sweet Potatoes
Although not available in every 7-Eleven in South Korea (and possibly a winter speciality), we saw several Seoul 7-Eleven stores selling hot roasted sweet potatoes from a dedicated hot bar at the counters. This purple sweet potato is 2,000 Korean Won per spud.
17. Korean K-Pop merchandise / branded goods
Obviously the K-pop phenomenon in South Korea is huge and now globally, so you’d expect, all manner of K-pop merchandise is available in 7-Elevens in Korea like branded mobile phone chargers.
Also, so many food and drink products feature K-Pop bands so you can’t escape them in any Korean convenience stores. For instance, when we visited last, there was a range of Lotte produced BTS chewing gum plus Snickers bars with BTS song titles on that replace the usual Snickers logo!
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18. Triangular rice (Samgak Kimbap)
Nice rice triangles! Although we never figured out properly how to open a Samgak Kimbap from 7-Eleven (we always made a mess), these healthy snacks are available in a range of flavours like Spam egg mayo, tuna and bulgogi. They are also available in cylindrical versions.
19. Toiletries and cosmetics
From the daily necessities like toothpaste and hand-wash to some of the more South Korean specific products like whitening face cream, 7-Eleven has you covered.
We found some of the lower end Korean hotels don’t really provide much in the form of toiletries so if you run out of anything, just dash to the nearest 7-Eleven or CU Convenience store.
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20. Squid Games Branded Food and Merchandise
Netflix’s global smash hit Squid Game now features on a wide variety of food packaging from Squid Game noodles to macaroons, energy drinks to sweets.
In some larger 7-Eleven Korea stores, you can even buy Squid Games toys, plushes and Young Hee doll merchandise.
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21. Cream Bread
Cream milk bread is one of the most popular items that 7-Eleven stores sell, being an instant hit on social media.
Whilst possibly not the most healthy snack, milk cream bread in South Korea is here to stay.
The best thing since sliced cream bread, be sure to spend some ‘dough’ on this dreamy, creamy convenience store cream bread.
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22. Pizza Slices
Something new we noticed recently – several 7-Eleven stores in Seoul had pizza slice hot cabinets with two pizza flavours available.
Margarita pizzas cost 7,500 Won as of May 2025 whilst pepperoni pizzas in 7-Eleven cost 8,500 Won.
23. Beer
Mainstream beers like Cass and Terra dominate the beer sections at 7-Eleven in South Korea but some also include craft beer and small batch brewery cans.
One of the more unusual beers we tried from 7-Eleven in Seoul was the Fil Goodbeer which is from the Oriental brewery and is more of a rice beer and slightly lower strength. As it is partially rice based and a lower ABV, the tax to produce it is cheaper so it is cheaper than say Cass or Terra.
Unlike 7-Elevens in say Thailand where there are stricter alcohol laws meaning you can’t buy alcohol at certain times of the day, you can buy beer at 7-Elevens in South Korea during opening hours.
Tip – for whatever reason, buying beer in bottles in 7-Elevens in South Korea seemed to be way cheaper than buying beer in cans. For instance, a 500ml bottle of Cass beer was 2,500 Korea Won whilst a can of Cass beer the same size cost 2,800 Korean Won.
Also unlike other countries that have 7-Elevens (e.g. Canada), you don’t need to pay a bottle deposit at Korean 7 Elevens.
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24. Soju
So-ju like… sorry, so you like alcoholic drinks? Then ‘Korean vodka’ soju might be for you as it is widely available at 7-Elevens in South Korea and cheap as.
It is cheaper than beer and generally available for less than 1,500 Korean Won (£1 / 1 USD for a small bottle).
Produced from cassava, soju is hugely popular in Korea and usually consumed neat. It is around 9 to 20% ABV (so half that of vodka). We found it quite an acquired taste but everyone else loved it so there you go!
Read more in our guide to Korean soju >
25. Rice Wine / Makgeolli
One of our lasting memories of spending time in Seoul was seeing the amount of people old and young enjoying rice wine (makgeolli) and being VERY merry on it, particularly at Gwangjang Market where you could buy it at stalls or sneak it in from the 7-Elevens and CU stores on the market fringes!
Around 6% to 9% ABV, it is stronger than beer and much cheaper too making it an incredibly popular drink. Quite milky and ‘sharp’ in taste, it can be bought in huge bottles for very little money (usually 2,000 to 2,500 Korean Won).
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26. Korean Lemon slice highballs
Have you tried the viral real lemon slice highballs in Korea?
Last time we were here in October, these famous Korean drinks had sold out in most convenience stores but they are more widely available now (the trend may have died down in 2025).
There are several lemon slice highball brands but we found this one in 7-Eleven very fizzy and refreshing costing 4,500 Won – they drop to 4,000 Won if you buy several but at 7%, one was enough for me!
It was really refreshing and very ‘lemony’ (yes that is a word – probably) – although you kind of don’t notice the alcohol so drink responsibly.
27. Soft Drinks at 7-Eleven in South Korea
As well as the usual soft drink types like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, there were lots of soft drinks to try in 7-Elevens in South Korea including Chilsung Cider, Korea’s No.1 original sparkling soft drink (not cider like we know it in the UK or US – this is a lemon and lime carbonated drink, very similar to Sprite).
We also took a shine to Pineapple flavoured Fanta which we hadn’t seen anywhere else outside of South Korea.
As you’d expect, there were also numerous soft drinks in South Korean 7-Eleven’s relating to cutesy cartoon character like Hello Kitty shaped water bottles and the Kakao characters.
28. Korean Hot Dogs
Usually found in the fried / hot chicken cabinet at 7-Elevens, Korean hot dogs are a very popular fast-food in South Korea. They are essentially a traditional hot dog sausage wrapped in panko bread crumbs with cheese served with mustard and sometimes ketchup.
29. Culinary Class Wars
The chefs from Korea’s cooking smash hit TV programme Culinary Class Wars on Netflix now have their own line of food and drink products, available in 7-Eleven and all other convenience stores.
Featuring Korea’s most famous chef and restauranteur, Paik Jong-won, Culinary Class Wars has lots of spin off ready meals and desserts created by chefs from the show, included Chef Edward Lee.
30. Bakery sections at 7-Eleven in South Korea
You can find lots of bakery and bread related products in Korean 7-Elevens, particularly sweet breads and garlic / honey butter related products. You can also find pre-packaged goods like sweet cake, croissants and waffles.
31. Frozen sections at 7-Eleven in South Korea
Although not all 7-Elevens we visited in Seoul and South Korea had dedicated frozen sections, most have at least one freezer cabinet (the largest 7-Eleven we found in Seoul under Myeongdong Cathedral had a massive frozen section).
7-Eleven frozen sections in South Korea included take home goods like gyozas, chicken nuggets and frozen ready meals.
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32. HBAF
We’re ‘nuts’ about Korean HBAF flavored almonds! Possibly South Korea’s most scrummy souvenir snack, HBAF almonds 바프 are a popular tourist treat that come in dozens of different flavours and are widely available in 7-Eleven stores (usually in the smaller snack pack sizes).
From the original honey butter almond flavour to more interesting flavours like injeolmi and wasabi, be sure to try as many flavours as possible.
You might like our HBAF almonds flavors guide >
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33. T-Money Card
Public transport in South Korea is simple to use, but it is even easier (and sometimes cheaper) with a T-Money card which can be bought and topped up in every 7-Eleven store in Korea.
From the buses of Busan to the Seoul Subway, the best way to use public transport across South Korea hassle-free is by using a T-Money card or similar transportation card.
In South Korea, T-money cards initially cost 5,000 Korean Won but last indefinitely and are very convenient to hop on and off public transport in Seoul and South Korea.
A minimum top-up starting balance starts from 1,000 Won on top of your purchase price. These can also be used to buy goods in convenience stores.
34. Second hand goods at Korean 7-Elevens
Yes, you read that right – you can now (sort of) purchase and pick-up second hand items at 7-Eleven South Korea.
In 2022 7-Eleven signed a new deal with Joonggonara, a second-hand marketplace platform, whereby you can pick up second hand goods purchased on the platform from the assigned store.
When the product is purchased online, the buyer can pick it up at a 7 Eleven store in South Korea at a time of their choosing.
35. Top-up vouchers at Korean 7-Elevens
Finally, 7-Eleven (and other convenience stores) is your go to place to top up or purchase calling cards or pre-paid vouchers, like Netflix, Apple Music or Spotify.
The Best 7-Eleven in Seoul
On our recent trip to Seoul in May 2025, we discovered what we think might be the coolest and best 7-Eleven in Seoul, in the basement of the new Dundun mall in Dongdaemun.
This was a beautiful looking store with neon lights, cool interiors and fixtures plus it even had a miniature 7-Eleven Korea museum and cabinets showing classic items you could buy.
Add into the mix a Ramyeon Museum, soju cabinet and banana milk chiller and this is one special 7-Eleven in Seoul – it also has an ample seating area.
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Hi! Really enjoyed your comprehensive guide to 7-Eleven in South Korea – it’s a fantastic resource for travelers. I noticed you mentioned a wide variety of food and drinks, but I was wondering about something more practical for tourists who might get a headache after a long day of exploring. Do these stores also carry common over-the-counter pain relievers, like the ones you might find at a CVS or Walgreens in the US? For example, something like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil)? Sorry for including a link, but I thought it might be helpful for clarity to show an example of what’s available in the US for comparison. Thanks for the great article!