Walk into a Korean supermarket and the snack aisle can feel like a trip to another planet. Bright packets show cartoon animals, strange flavours and treats you have never seen in a British corner shop.
Trying them is a fun and cheap way to learn about Korean food and culture. Here are some of the oddest and tastiest picks to grab on your next visit.
1. Honey Butter Chips
Back in 2014, shoppers in Seoul queued for hours and shops ran out within minutes. The cause was a humble crisp coated in honey and butter.
Imagine ready salted crisps meeting a sweet buttery biscuit. The flavour is rich, sticky and oddly addictive, so one bag rarely feels like enough.
Look for the bright yellow Haitai packet. Pair them with a cup of tea for a surprisingly British-friendly afternoon treat.
2. Shrimp Crackers (Saeukkang)
Prawn cocktail crisps have a very old Korean cousin. Nongshim launched Saeukkang in 1971, and it remains a national favourite today.
Each curved stick is made with real shrimp, giving a light, salty, seaside taste. The crunch is airy rather than hard, so even little kids enjoy them.
Fans often share them with friends at the park. Just keep a drink nearby, because the salt sneaks up on you.
3. Choco Pie
Think of a Wagon Wheel, then make it softer and fluffier. Orion Choco Pie is a chocolate-coated cake with a marshmallow middle.
Koreans treat it as a friendship snack. The red box even carries a Chinese character meaning affection, and soldiers often get them as gifts.
A quick tip: pop one in the microwave for five seconds. The marshmallow turns gooey, and it tastes like a warm pudding.
4. Turtle Chips (Kkobuk Chips)
Here is a crisp shaped like a tiny turtle shell. Kkobuk Chips are made from four thin layers pressed together, creating loads of little pockets.
Those layers trap flavour and give a crunch that sounds almost musical. The churros flavour, dusted with cinnamon sugar, is the one everyone talks about.
Did you know? The makers spent about eight years perfecting the layering process before the chips ever reached shops.
5. Pepero Sticks
Every 11 November, Korea celebrates Pepero Day. Friends swap boxes of these sticks because the date 11/11 looks like four little biscuits standing in a row.
Each thin stick is dipped in chocolate, almond or other coatings. They are a lot like Mikado, but with more fun flavours to try.
Grab a few boxes in November. Giving them to classmates is a sweet way to share a Korean tradition.
6. Seasoned Seaweed Snacks
Seaweed for a snack? It sounds odd, yet many British kids already love it after one try.
Korean gim is roasted with sesame oil and a pinch of salt. The thin sheets crackle on your tongue and melt almost instantly, leaving a nutty, savoury taste.
Packs are small, low in calories and easy for lunchboxes. You can also wrap the sheets around rice for a quick homemade bite.
7. Banana Milk
Picture a chubby little yellow bottle that looks like a pot. That is Binggrae Banana Milk, sold in Korea since 1974.
The shape was inspired by traditional clay jars, which makes it easy to spot on any shelf. Inside, the drink is creamy, mild and gently sweet.
It works brilliantly with salty crisps. Serve it cold, and pop in a straw for the full Korean convenience store experience.
8. Fish-Shaped Ice Cream (Samanco)
Ice cream inside a fish? Yes, really, and it is delicious.
Samanco is a wafer shaped like a carp, stuffed with vanilla ice cream and sweet red bean paste.
It copies bungeoppang, a warm fish-shaped street snack sold in Korean winters. The frozen version is perfect for summer days.
Check the freezer section. If red beans sound strange, try the strawberry or chocolate versions first.
9. Yakgwa Honey Cookies
Some snacks are centuries old, and yakgwa is one of them. Royal families in Korea once enjoyed these flower-shaped honey biscuits at festivals.
The cookie is fried, then soaked in honey syrup with a hint of ginger. Bite in and you get chewy, sticky sweetness, a bit like a cross between flapjack and treacle tart.
Young Koreans have made them trendy again. Try one with green tea.
10. Dried Squid Snacks
Be brave with this one. Dried squid is a chewy, fishy snack that Koreans munch at cinemas and on long train rides.
It comes shredded or whole, often flavoured with a little sugar or chilli. Many people warm it slightly, which softens the texture and boosts the smell.
Expect a strong seaside aroma. It is high in protein though, so it makes a filling choice for hungry teenagers.
11. Rice Cakes Puffs (Ppeongtwigi)
Bang! That loud pop is how ppeongtwigi was traditionally made.
Street sellers heated grains in a pressure machine until they burst into puffs.
Today you can buy big bags of the round discs in supermarkets. They taste lightly sweet and toasty, like a crunchier version of rice cakes from British health shops.
Kids love snapping them into pieces. They are also great spread with peanut butter.
12. Bbushu Bbushu Noodle Snack
Smash it, shake it, then eat it raw. Bbushu Bbushu is instant ramen designed to be crushed inside the bag instead of boiled.
You open the seasoning sachet, sprinkle it in, and shake hard. The result is a crunchy, flavour-packed snack that sounds very satisfying when you bite.
Bulgogi and sweet and spicy are popular options. It is a playful one to share at sleepovers.
13. Injeolmi Rice Cakes
Soft, squishy and dusted in golden powder, injeolmi is one of the cosiest snacks you can find.
These chewy rice cakes are rolled in roasted soybean flour, which tastes nutty and a little like toasted biscuits. Koreans often eat them during holidays like Chuseok, a harvest festival.
Look for them in the chilled section. Eat them fresh, since they harden quickly, and watch out for powder on your jumper.
14. Corn Chips (Corn Cho)
Sweet corn as a snack might confuse a British shopper. In Korea, though, caramel corn puffs are a classic choice for road trips.
Lotte makes a famous version with peanuts mixed in. Each puff is light and crunchy with a buttery caramel coating, similar to toffee popcorn but more delicate.
They melt fast in your mouth. Sharing a bag during a film night will win you friends quickly.
15. Yogurt Jelly (Yoplait-Style Pouches)
Drinkable jelly is a surprise to most UK shoppers. Korean shops sell squeezy pouches filled with wobbly fruit or yogurt jelly.
You sip through the spout and get a slurpy, bouncy texture. Flavours like grape, lychee and apple feel refreshing after sports or a long walk.
Some versions contain konjac, a plant fibre that keeps you full. Chill them first, and shake gently before drinking.
16. Sweet Potato Snacks (Goguma)
Ask any Korean grandparent about winter snacks, and roasted sweet potato will come up. Supermarkets now sell dried goguma strips and crunchy sweet potato sticks.
The dried version is chewy and naturally sweet, with no added sugar in many brands. It tastes like a healthy sweet you might find at a farmers market.
Parents often choose them for lunchboxes. They also give long study sessions a tasty energy boost.
17. Ggul Hotteok Snacks
Street food lovers, listen up. Hotteok are pancakes filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts, usually sold at winter stalls.
Supermarkets stock frozen packs and DIY mix kits. You fry the dough, press it flat, and the filling melts into a gooey syrup.
Let them cool for a minute first, since that sugar gets very hot. Think of it as a Korean answer to pancake day.