Nongshim Shrimp Cracker (농심 새우깡)
Total Score: 7.6Taste & Flavor: 7 | Nutrition: 8.8 | Convenience: 6.5 | Price: 10.0 | Uniqueness: 6 Tasting Notes: Shrimp, Salty, Crunchy
Purchased at: GS25
"My hand goes, my hand goes, to Shrimp Cracker!" - Slogan from Nongshim
The classic of the classic. Shrimp Crackers (Saewookkang) from Nongshim have been around since 1971. They are one of the oldest and most love snacks in South Korea. Opening the bag reveals the iconic shrimp flavors. It brings memories of the sea and even seagulls who might just steal your snack from you! Nongshim Shrimp Crackers live up to their name and taste strongly of shrimp. They have a well-balanced saltiness and a satisfying crunch. h. You can’t go wrong and they will continue to be a classic of Korean snacks. Shrimp Cracker Commercial from 1991
HEYROO Yellow Cheese Rusk (HEYROO 황치즈 러스크)
Total Score: 7.6Taste & Flavor: 8 | Nutrition: 7 | Convenience: 5.5 | Price: 10 | Uniqueness: 7 Tasting Notes: Cheesy, Crunchy, Salty
Additional Flavors: Caramel, Butter, Chocolate, Cranberry
Purchased at: GS25 (Exclusive)
Yellow Cheese (hwang chichu) flavored snacks and desserts took off in the early 2000's in Korea. They’re sweet, salty, and slightly tangy; cheese with added sweetness. This snack made exclusively for GS25 combines the yellow cheese addictive flavor with rusk. Rusk is a twice-baked, insanely crunchy bread that makes for a unique texture and flavor experience. It’s a perfect example of the new experimentation and evolution of Korean snacks to more diverse flavors and styles.
Loopy Rosé Tteokbokki Snack (루피 로제 떡볶이 스낵)
Total Score: 6.6Taste & Flavor: 5 | Nutrition: 8.6 | Convenience: 7.5 | Price: 9.3 | Uniqueness: 4 Tasting Notes: Sweet, Creamy, Spicy
Additional Flavors: Cheese, Hot Chilli Lime
Purchased at: CU (Exclusive)
Gotta collect them all! All 170…? This is another flavor variation of our Most Unique Snack winner, Zanmang Loopy’s Tteokbokki Snacks. Its random sticker comes in 170 different poses of Loopy. That’s a lot of Loopy to collect. This particular flavor is Rosé, a creamy version of a tomato-based pasta sauce originating in Northern Italy. Rosé flavored snacks, braised chicken (Jjimdak), and simmered rice cakes (tteokbokki) gained popularity since 2020 due to social media. They are creamy, sweet, with a hint of spice. Loopy's Rosé snack combines a snackified traditional Korean food with a unique, foregin flavor. It comes together for a memorable eating experience.
Mala Flavor Popcorn (마라맛 팝콘)
Total Score: 5.8Taste & Flavor: 5 | Nutrition: 6.6 | Convenience: 6.5 | Price: 5.7 | Uniqueness: 6 Tasting Notes: Pepper, Spicy, Salty
Purchased at: GS25 (Exclusive)
This popcorn is salted and seasoned with a unique Mala blend. The Chinese spice blends known as "mala" are distinguished by the use of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers. It's famous for its numbing and tingling sensations. Although it is most popular in Korea in Mala soup (마라탕), this spice can now be found in many different snacks. This particular popcorn captures the chili flavor well, but lacks the tingling sensation and a crunchy texture. Fun to try for the unique flavor, but leaves some to be desired.
Nongshim Shrimp Cracker Black (새우깡 블랙)
Total Score: 7.8Taste & Flavor: 8 | Nutrition: 8.6 | Convenience: 7.5 | Price: 6.9 | Uniqueness: 7 Tasting Notes: Truffle, Salty, Shrimp
Purchased at: GS25 (Exclusive)
So this snack is a premium version of the classic Sekong or shrimp cracker made by Nonggim. Following the premium price, it uses better quality ingredients. Shrimp Crackers Black contain 17% shrimp versus the 8.5% in the classic cracker. Along with a larger cracker size, it also packs a unique flavor, black truffle. The truffle smell is STRONG. If you don't like artificial truffle flavor, this is a snack to skip. It’s safe to say you won’t find too many other snacks around the world that will combine the shrimp and truffle flavors quite like this. It's a salty, crunchy, and satisfying version of the classic Shrimp Cracker.
Korean Smoked Galbi Flavor (프링글스 숯불갈비맛)
Total Score: 5.1Taste & Flavor: 4 | Nutrition: 7.7 | Convenience: 6.5 | Price: 2.4 | Uniqueness: 6 Tasting Notes: Sweet & Salty, Potato, Soy
Purchased at: CU
The Korean Smoked Galbi Flavor Pringles is a limited edition version of the "World of BBQ" series. Galbi is a popular type of Korean BBQ that uses marinated beef short ribs. Galbi marinades include soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sugar among other spices. It comes together for a deep savory and slightly sweet meat that is guaranteed to satisfy. However, these Pringles, while attempting to capture the heart of Korean Galbi, leave a lot to be desired. If you are a Pringles lover they are a worth shot, but if not these are an unfortunate pass.
Smash it! Smash it! BBQ flavor (오뚜기 뿌셔뿌셔 바베큐맛)
Total Score: 7.4Taste & Flavor: 6 | Nutrition: 9 | Convenience: 6.5 | Price: 10 | Uniqueness: 7 Tasting Notes: Savory, Sweet, Crunchy
Additional Flavors: Bulgogi, Yangnyeom Chicken, Tteokbokki and Pizza
Purchased at: CU
Smash it! Smash it! This barbecue flavored ramen snack is a nostalgic childhood favorite for many Koreans. Inside each page is a block of ready-to-eat dry ramen noodles and a package of seasoning. You crush the noodles, pour in the seasoning, and shake the bag to mix. You're left with a salty, sweet, and crunchy Ramen noodle snack. It's a fun eating experience with some unique flavor varieties.
HBAF Yellow Cheese Popcorn (바프 황치즈 팝콘)
Total Score: 9 Taste & Flavor: 8.3 | Nutrition: 7.6 | Convenience: 8.5 | Price: 8.1 | Uniqueness: 7 Tasting Notes: Cheesy, Salty, Crunchy, SweetPurchased at: 7-Eleven (Exclusive)
HBAF, a Korean manufacturer, is famous for its premium roasted nuts, honey roasted peanuts, and other snacks. Uniquely flavored almonds, such as tiramisu and black sesame, are popular souvenirs from Korea. This popcorn follows their premium standards. It's cheesy, crunchy, and the perfect amount of sweetness. HBAF’s Yellow Cheese flavor is like cheesy kettle corn that checks all my boxes. A dangerously delicious snack and a must try if you can find it.
Crispy Potato Sticks (눈을 감자)
Total Score: 6.7Taste & Flavor: 8 | Nutrition: 8.8 | Convenience: 6.5 | Price: 4 | Uniqueness: 2 Tasting Notes: Crunchy, Salty, Potato-Flavored
Purchased at: CU
It's hard to go wrong with potatoes. Thankfully, this isn’t one of the exceptions. As clearly as the name "Crispy Potato Sticks" states, this snack is thinly sliced potatoes seasoned and fried to crispy perfection. They are essentially entire slices of the crispy bit at the end of normal French Fries. They make for a delicious savory and salty snack. The flavor is familiar, but done in a really, really good way even if it is not especially unique. Take some advice and have a side of ketchup handy.