South Korean convenience stores are an easy place to buy Korean beer, soju, makgeolli and more.
Whilst we’d recommend going out at night to a Seoul craft beer bar or a cheap chain bar like Grandmother’s Beer, sometime you just want a Korean alcoholic drink or beer to take back to your hotel or enjoy in the afternoon after a hot day (we’ve been there).
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Buying a late-night soju at 7-Eleven South Korea or a can of beer at CU Convenience stores is a rite of passage for any first time traveller to South Korea – and you might be surprised how cheap beer prices and soju prices in Korea actually are (they are less expensive than a bottle water in many places)!
From the biggest selling beer and soju brands and other alcohol types, here is our guide to Korean alcohol prices at 7-Eleven, CU and other convenience stores.
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Drink responsibly and etiquette
Before we begin – please remember the legal drinking age in Korea is 19 years old and above – and in terms of drinking etiquette in Korea, be aware that the youngest person drinking should be the first to pour soju for everyone.
Alcohol at Korean Convenience Stores vs Supermarkets
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) – so this is most likely where you will be buying alcohol.
We have noticed that beer and soju prices in Korea are usually a little bit cheaper (usually 10 to 20%) at Korean supermarkets, but smaller convenience stores like 7-Eleven are much more common than supermarkets.
However, for the cheapest prices (especially soju), head to big supermarkets like Lotte and the big Emart superstores. We have seen the classic bottles of Jinro soju and Chum Churum Soj for as little as 1,300 Won (around £0.70 / $0.95 USD / $1.40 AUD as of July 2025).
For this Korean alcohol price guide, we are basing most costs on convenience store prices as these are likely more common for travellers to visit.
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Which are the most popular convenience stores in South Korea?
There are lots of different convenience store brands to choose from in South Korea including CU stores, GS25 and Emart but one of the most popular remains 7-Eleven.
The largest convenience store chain in Korea is GS25 with around 18,000 stores as of summer 2025.
With over 17,000 CU stores in South Korea as of 2025, CU stores is the second biggest convenience store chain in South Korea.
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.
So between them, you soon realise why these convenience stores account for the majority of alcohol sales in Korea, besides bars and clubs.
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2025 Korean alcohol prices in convenience stores
Based on our last visit to South Korea in May 2025, we will show the average prices for all types of alcohol, from beer to soju, makgeolli (rice wine).
South Korea Hallyu tip – a lot of convenience stores carry multibuy deals which make Korean alcohol and beers prices even cheaper. For example a sealed glass of wine in a convenience store costs 5,000 Won per glass but you can get 3 for 13,500 Won, saving you 1,500 Won overall – so look out for those limited edition sales and deals!
Korean Beer
Mainstream beers like Cass and Terra dominate the beer sections at 7-Eleven and other convenience stores in South Korea, but some also include craft beer and small batch brewery cans (one of the most popular craft beers in Korea is Jeju Beer Company).
As of summer 2025, a 500ml can of Cass beer in Korean convenience stores usually costs 2,800 Won. We found it better value to buy the 660ml bottles which usually are roughly the same price.
For a Korean craft beer, expect to pay around 4,000 to 5,000 Won a can. For instance, the popular Jeju Beer Company Pellong Ale costs 4,200 Won per 500ml can.
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.
You might like – our guides to the best craft beer bars in Seoul or Busan brewery bars
International Beers, Ales and Stouts
As well as local beers, there are lots of international beers available to buy in South Korea, usually in 500ml can sizes.
- Tsingtao – 4,000 Won
- Kronenbourg 1664 blanc – 4,400 Won
- Kozel – 4,500 Won
- Sapporo – 3,900 Won
- Asahi – 4,000 Won
- Guinness – 4,400 Won
- Stella Artois – 3,900 Won
- Heineken – 3,900 Won
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Soju
So-ju like… sorry, so you like alcoholic drinks? Then ‘Korean vodka’ soju might be for you as it is widely available in convenience stores in South Korea and cheap as.
Reminiscent a little of vodka but usually not as strong, soju is a clear distilled alcoholic drink that is often made from ethanol and water, and best served chilled.
Soju was traditionally made from fermented rice and distilled from alcohol (and still is at some of the older Korean soju breweries like Andong) but not so much today in modern day South Korea (as it can be made cheaper using other grains and chemicals).
The biggest and most widely Chamisul (참이슬), Jinro Soju (진로 ), Lotte Chum Churum (처음처럼) and Good Day (좋은데이). Many of these are available in flavoured varieties too like strawberry, plum or grape.
Soju is VERY cheap in South Korea – for a standard bottle in a CU convenience store or a 7-Eleven store, it usually costs around 1,800 to 1,900 Won per bottle (around £1, $1.30 USD, $2 AUD and $1.70 SGD). For instance, a 360 ml Jinro Chamisul Fresh Soju 참이슬 16.5% abv cost 1,900 Won.
These Korean soju prices are based on the popular brands Jinro Chamisul and Lotte Chum Churum as of our last visit to Seoul in May 2025.
South Korea Hallyu tip – Try a a soju bomb (poktan-ju 폭탄주). This is when you drop a shot of soju straight into a beer and drink it as one. You can also combine beer and soju to make a cocktail called Somaek 소맥. They are easy to order in many Korean bars.
Find out more in our guide to Korean soju >
Rice Wine / Makgeolli / Rice Wine
One of our lasting memories of spending time in South Korea was seeing the amount of people old and young enjoying rice wine (makgeolli) and being very happy and social (we’ve often been greeted with a call of ‘Geonbae’ and raised glasses).
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 750ml bottles for very little money (usually 2,000 to 2,500 Korean Won).
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Wine
Most of the wines sold in Korean convenience stores are imported, featuring mainstream international wine manufacturers like Yellowtail.
Wine isn’t so popular in Korea so wine prices are a little higher. That said, we have seen many wine-bars including those where you can self-pour so go for it!
Standard bottles of wine usually start from around 8,000 Won for and go-up to anything like 60,000 Won (possibly more)
Example 2025 wine prices in South Korea:
- Wiag Wine in a Glass 187ml Moscato or Cabernet Sauvignon – 5,000 Won
- Local brand wine – 7,900 Won a bottle
- Yellowtail shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and Jammy red roo – 17,000 Won (although we’ve seen it on sale for 14,900 Won)
- Jinro Red Wine – 25,000 Won
- Submission Napa Valley – 56,200 Won
- Carmen Road – 38,000 Won
- Sideral – 45,900 Won
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Whiskeys and International Spirits
If you want something a little stronger than beer, all Korean convenience stores have wine cabinets and a spirits section.
In CU convenience stores, they often have a section called the CU Bar that sells drinks like Jacob’s Creek wine and Evan Williams Kentucky Whiskey.
Spirits / whiskey prices in Korea we noted in May 2025 include:
- Jack Daniels Apple 750ml – 14,900 Won
- Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey 750ml – 26,000 Won
- Jack Daniels Tennessee original 750ml – 39,400 Won
- Jamesons Whiskey 350ml – 23,500 Won
- Jagermeister 200ml – 18,500 Won
- Jim Bean 200ml – 10,000 Won
- Ballentines Finest 200ml – 11,900 Won
- Ballentines 12 Years Old 200ml – 19,500 Won
- Absolut Peach vodka – 28,900 Won
Plus lots of whiskey brands we’ve never heard of like Scotch Blue Pocket (very cheap).
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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.
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Pub and bar prices in South Korea
If you are wondering how much beer and soju is in Korean restaurants and bars compared to convenience stores, it is usually about 2 to 2.5x more expensive (and a lot more in clubs).
For a standard Korean restaurant, expect to pay between 3,500 to 5,000 Won for a 500ml beer (usually Cass or Terra) and 5,000 Won for a bottle of Jinro / Lotte soju.
One of the cheapest ‘foreigner friendly’ bars in South Korea was “Grandma’s Beer” (Yeokjeon Halmek), Korea’s biggest chain of pubs (it has 1,000 bars) known for their (literally) ice-cold beers and cheap food and drink prices.
Based on our own experiences, it is popular with Korean workers and young locals plus sport fans – oh and occasional travellers like ourselves.
Based on a trip to one of their Seoul branches, a large 500 ml beer costs just 4,700 won – around £2.50 / $3.35 USD / $5.25 AUD / 3 Euros – and it is served in their famous ice cold frosted glass.
In bars outside of Seoul, 500ml of beer is 4,500 Won or 3,300 Won for a 300ml (go large, if I were you)! A large bottle of ‘gold’ soju with a side mixer and the blender costs 6,500 Won.
Read our guide to Korea’s Grandma’s Beer Bars >
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