Convenience stores become popular among foreign tourists
GS Retail's convenience store brand GS25 in Gangnam, Seoul / Courtesy of GS Retail
By Kim Jae-heun
A 33-year-old Thai tourist surnamed Sinchawla was surprised to see how much Korean convenience stores have changed since his last visit to Seoul in 2017.
“There are so many new products in Korean convenience stores, compared to when I first visited (a) few years ago,” Sinchawla said. “Also, they run a lot of 'buy two, get one' promotions. I can see why people go to convenience stores to shop for daily necessities. They literally have everything at a reasonable price.”
Another tourist surnamed Shinomiya from Japan, recently visited Seoul for the fifth time and picked a convenience store as her favorite place.
“Korea is my favorite country I visit often,” Shinomiya said. “There is something new that I like about (it) every time I visit. This time, I went to a Korean convenience store after watching (on) YouTube that there (were) so many good-quality lunch boxes and desserts. I liked an egg-mayo sandwich with strawberry jam.”
Convenience stores are emerging as a new must-visit tourism attraction for foreigners on the back of their frequent appearances in Korean dramas and movies. There are a number of YouTube videos introducing popular food items.
In the first half of this year, the best-selling product among foreigners at the three major convenience stores, CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven, was banana-flavored milk produced by Binggrae.
“Banana-flavored milk has always been popular. Nowadays, we see many tourists from Japan, China and Vietnam purchase public transportation cards with popular animation characters on them,” a GS Retail official said. “Convenience stores have been popular among foreigners even before COVID-19. Though, if we had mainly Chinese and Japanese shopping at our store before, we see various nationalities nowadays.”
The official added, “I think it's the Korean wave effect that is constantly bringing back foreigners to local convenience stores. And we find them more in Itaewon and Hongdae as younger tourists tend to visit these areas rather than Myeong-dong or Dongdaemun.”
The country's largest convenience store brand CU, operated by BGF Retail, saw its sales from foreigners between January and June this year jump 66.4 percent year-on-year.