Korean Convenience Store Guide (2026): CU, GS25, 7-Eleven and Emart24 — 1+1 and 2+1 Deals, Lunch Boxes, the Ramen Counter, Membership Apps, Medicine, ATMs and What Foreign Cards Can Do

Korea has more convenience stores per person than any country in the world — CU alone had 18,711 at the end of 2025 and GS25 about 18,112 — and they do far more than sell snacks: they are where students eat lunch, commuters top up transit cards, night workers buy painkillers, and tourists discover the ramen counter. This part explains the deals, the food, the machines and the apps, with a calculator for whether the 1+1 is really a bargain.

The four chains

CU (green and purple) and GS25 (blue) are the two giants at roughly 18,000 stores each; 7-Eleven (which absorbed Ministop in 2022) and Emart24 are smaller and shrinking slightly. They sell the same categories at the same prices; what differs is the private-label food (CU's 연세 cream buns, GS25's 혜자 lunch boxes, 7-Eleven's 세븐셀렉트 line), the month's 1+1 list and which carrier discount applies. Most are 24 hours; a growing minority in residential areas close overnight — the sign on the door says 24시 or the hours.

The deals

The yellow shelf tags carry the month's offers. 1+1 (one free with one) and 2+1 (one free with two) are the core mechanic and change on the 1st of each month; they cover drinks, snacks, instant food, toiletries and beer, rarely fresh food. The free item is added at ₩0 at the till — take both to the counter. Membership apps — Pocket CU, 우리동네GS (GS25), 세븐앱 — stamp purchases, hold coupons, and let you bank the free item from a 1+1 for a later visit, which turns the deal into a genuine half-price. Carrier memberships: GS25 partners with all three carriers since July 2025 (SKT: ₩200 off per ₩1,000 on lunch boxes, gimbap and sandwiches on Tuesdays), CU with KT and LG U+ on similar terms; show the carrier app barcode before paying. Prepaid gift-card apps and 편의점 상품권 exist but are not worth a tourist's time.

The food

The lunch-box wall (도시락, ₩4,500–6,500, premium ones over ₩6,000 now) is the country's cheapest hot meal; heat it 90 seconds in the store microwave. Triangle gimbap (삼각김밥, ₩1,300–1,800; pull tab 1, then 2 and 3 to unwrap without tearing the seaweed) and rolled gimbap (₩2,500–3,500) are breakfast. Cup noodles (₩1,300–2,000; fill at the hot-water dispenser to the line, 3–4 minutes) and the ramen cooker — a self-service induction machine that boils a bag ramen with water in a foil bowl, an egg and cheese optional — are the reason the seating exists (Part 4 ranks the ramen). Also: sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit cups, hard-boiled eggs (구운계란 — baked, brown, from the jjimjilbang), banana milk, the seasonal 붕어빵-style pastries, and at 7-Eleven and Emart24, fried chicken counters. Fresh-brewed coffee at the machine is ₩1,500–2,500 — the country's cheapest americano.

Alcohol and cigarettes are sold to adults with ID — a foreigner shows a passport or residence card; the clerk will ask under 30. Beer is on 4-for-₩11,000-type deals (the "4캔 만원" era ended with prices rising; look for the tag), soju ₩1,900–2,200, and drinking outside a convenience store at its plastic table is legal and a summer institution.

The machines

ATMs (CU/GS25 host Hana, Woori or Lotte machines) accept foreign Visa/Mastercard/Plus/Cirrus cards with a fee of ₩3,000–4,000 plus your bank's; press Foreign card or the globe icon. T-money cards are sold (₩2,500–4,000) and topped up at the till in cash — say the amount, hand the card and notes; card top-ups are the exception (the transit-card guide has the fares). Parcels (택배) can be sent from GS25 and CU counters at ₩3,000–6,000 domestic — useful for shipping a suitcase to your next city. Package lockers, phone charging cables for sale, umbrellas, socks, phone-plan SIM cards, printers at some, and the 안전상비의약품 rack of 13 medicines by the till, sold one pack per person.

Etiquette in one line

Take deal items together to the till, heat food in the store microwave and eat at the counter, sort your rubbish into the bins (general / plastic / cans / food), and if you have brought a Korean friend, expect them to ask the clerk which chain has the drink on 1+1 this month. Next: the ramen aisle, from ₩500 a bag up, ranked by heat and price.