11 Best Korean Chips and Crackers You Need to Try
11 Best Korean Chips and Crackers You Need to Try
I brought back six bags of Korean snacks for a house party last month. Six. And within forty minutes, every single bag was empty and three people were asking me to send them links. That's when I realized I should probably just write this post already.
I've been living in Seoul for a little over three years now, and I'll be honest — when I first moved here, I figured chips were chips. Like, how different could they really be? Turns out: very different. Korean snack companies do things with flavoring that I genuinely don't understand. The seasoning game is on another planet. And the texture innovation? Some of these crackers have layering techniques that feel more like pastry engineering than snack food.
So here's my definitive list of the best Korean chips and crackers I've found — the ones I actually keep in my apartment at all times. I've bought every single one of these multiple times with my own money, mostly from the GS25 near my place in Mapo-gu and the big E-Mart in Yongsan. No sponsored picks. Just genuine addiction.
1. Honey Butter Chip (해태 허니버터칩)
Price: ₩1,800 / ~$1.30
You've probably heard of this one. Honey Butter Chip literally caused a nationwide shortage when it launched back in 2014, and people were reselling bags for insane markups. The hype has calmed down, but the chip hasn't gotten any less good.
The first thing that hits you is the smell — it's this weirdly intoxicating mix of sweet butter and honey that fills the room when you open the bag. The chip itself is ridged and thick, with a coating that's somewhere between savory and dessert. Imagine if Lay's made a chip that couldn't decide if it wanted to be popcorn or candy. That's this.
I pick up a bag probably once a week from the convenience store. It's my go-to "watching Netflix on the couch" snack. The closest western comparison would be something like Kettle Brand's Honey Dijon chips, but honestly, Honey Butter Chip is sweeter and more buttery. Way more addictive.
The catch: The bags are small. Like, frustratingly small for the price. You'll finish one in about ten minutes and immediately want another. Haitai knows what they're doing.
2. Nongshim Shrimp Crackers (농심 새우깡)
Price: ₩1,500 / ~$1.10
Saewookkang. The OG. This snack has been around since 1971 and it's still everywhere — in every convenience store, every supermarket, every grandma's snack drawer. There's a reason for that.
These are light, crunchy, puffed shrimp crackers with a flavor that's genuinely shrimpy without being fishy. The texture is airy and crispy, almost like a puffed rice cracker but with way more flavor. I didn't think I'd love these as much as I do because I'm normally not huge on seafood-flavored snacks, but there's something about that umami coating that just works.
Think of them as Korean Prawn Crackers — similar to what you'd get at a Chinese restaurant, but crunchier and with more concentrated seasoning. My British friends say they're like Skips but better. I'll take their word on that.
The catch: The original flavor is the one to get. They've done a bunch of limited editions (wasabi, spicy, cheese) and honestly most of them are worse than the classic. Stick with the red bag.
3. Orion Turtle Chips Choco Churros (오리온 꼬북칩 초코츄러스)
Price: ₩2,000 / ~$1.50
Okay, I need to talk about Turtle Chips because the engineering behind these is actually wild. They're four-layered corn chips. Four layers. Each chip has this puffy, flaky structure that crunches differently than any other chip I've ever had — it's like biting into a tiny, crispy croissant.
The Choco Churros flavor is the one I keep coming back to. It tastes like cinnamon sugar churros dipped in chocolate, which sounds like it shouldn't work as a chip but absolutely does. The sweetness isn't overwhelming; it's balanced with this toasted corn base flavor that keeps it snackable.
I've been buying these for about eight months now, usually grabbing two bags at a time from the snack aisle at E-Mart. They're also great for parties because the shape and texture make people go "wait, what IS this?" — instant conversation starter.
If you've ever had Bugles (the cone-shaped chips), the concept is vaguely similar in terms of shape, but the multi-layer thing makes Turtle Chips way crunchier and more interesting texturally.
The catch: They're on the sweeter side. If you want savory, go for the original corn soup flavor or the Injeolmi (Korean rice cake) version instead. Also, these are dangerously easy to eat. I've finished an entire large bag during one movie. No regrets. Some regrets.
4. Lotte Pepero — Almond & Chocolate (롯데 빼빼로 아몬드)
Price: ₩1,500 / ~$1.10
Yes, Pepero is basically Korean Pocky. I know. But hear me out — the Almond version is genuinely better than any Pocky I've ever had. The chocolate coating is thicker, and the crushed almond pieces on the outside give it this nutty crunch that takes it from "cookie stick dipped in chocolate" to something actually satisfying.
Pepero Day (November 11th) is a whole thing here. People buy boxes and boxes of these as gifts, and during that season you can find limited edition flavors everywhere — I grabbed a tiramisu one from the CU near Gangnam station last November that was phenomenal.
The regular almond version is my daily pick though. I keep a box at my desk at work. Each stick has a really satisfying snap to it, and the chocolate-to-cookie ratio is better than what you get with standard Pocky sticks. The chocolate is a bit sweeter and milkier, which I prefer.
The catch: The original plain chocolate Pepero is... fine. Just fine. Not worth writing about. You specifically want the almond one, or the dark chocolate variant if you like things less sweet. Don't waste your time on the basic one.
5. Calbee Honey Butter Potato Sticks (칼비 허니버터 감자스틱)
Price: ₩1,200 / ~$0.90
These fly under the radar compared to Honey Butter Chip, but I actually think they might be better? The stick format means more surface area for the honey butter seasoning, and the crunch is sharper — less greasy, more crispy. Each stick is thin and light, almost like a savory pretzel stick that's been dusted in sweet butter powder.
I found these for the first time at a 7-Eleven in Itaewon about a year ago and I've been hooked since. At ₩1,200 they're genuinely a steal — probably the best value snack on this entire list.
If you know Calbee's Jagabee potato sticks (the ones in the green box), same idea but with the honey butter treatment. Better than the original by a mile.
The catch: The bags are tiny. Even tinier than Honey Butter Chip. You'll need two. Budget accordingly.
6. Crown Jolly Pong (크라운 죠리퐁)
Price: ₩1,000 / ~$0.75
Jolly Pong is weird. I love it. It's these tiny puffed wheat balls coated in a light caramel glaze, and they taste like someone turned cereal into a snack but actually did it well. The texture is ultra-light and airy — you could eat an entire bag and your hand would barely feel any weight difference.
Korean people have been eating Jolly Pong since the 80s and it's one of those nostalgia snacks that everyone here grew up with. My Korean friends always laugh when I tell them it's my favorite snack because to them it's like... generic childhood stuff. But as a foreigner trying it fresh? It's fantastic.
The smell when you open the bag is toasted grain with caramel. Honestly, it's like opening a box of honey-flavored cereal. These are dangerously poppable — you'll just keep grabbing handfuls without thinking.
Think of it as a Korean version of Kix cereal, but sweeter, crunchier, and actually delicious as a snack on its own. Some people here eat it with milk like cereal, which also works.
The catch: The caramel coating makes your fingers slightly sticky after a while. Keep a napkin nearby. Also, the bag is filled with like 60% air, which is annoying but seems to be a universal chip company move at this point.
7. Nongshim Potato Chip — Sour Cream & Onion (농심 수미칩 사워크림)
Price: ₩2,500 / ~$1.80
I know what you're thinking. Sour cream and onion? That's not uniquely Korean. And you're right, the flavor concept isn't. But the execution is completely different from what Lay's or Pringles does with the same flavor.
Sumi Chip (수미칩) uses thicker, kettle-style potato slices with visible potato skin on some chips. The crunch is heavier and more satisfying — almost like biting into a thick homemade chip. And the sour cream seasoning is tangier and more complex than the American version. There's this underlying sweetness that balances the onion flavor really nicely.
I grabbed my first bag at a GS25 maybe six months ago because it was the only sour cream option they had. Instant convert. I've been buying the big bag from E-Mart in Yongsan every couple weeks since.
Compare it to Kettle Brand Sea Salt & Vinegar chips in terms of thickness and crunch, but with a mellower, creamier flavor profile.
The catch: These are pricier than most Korean chips and the bag still isn't huge. The value isn't amazing, but the quality makes up for it. Also, the garlic variant is weirdly overpowering — stick with sour cream.
8. Ottogi Ppushu Ppushu — BBQ Flavor (오뚜기 뿌셔뿌셔 바베큐맛)
Price: ₩1,000 / ~$0.75
This snack is chaos in the best way. The name literally means "crush crush" because the way you eat it is: leave the noodles in the sealed bag, crush them up with your fists, sprinkle the seasoning packet inside, shake it up, and eat the broken pieces like chips. That's it. Dry, uncooked ramen noodles as a snack.
If that sounds weird to you... it is. And it's amazing. The BBQ flavor seasoning is smoky and slightly sweet, and the crunchy noodle texture gives you this satisfying bite that's somewhere between a cracker and a chip. I've been eating these since my first month in Korea, so about three years now, and the novelty still hasn't worn off.
Western equivalent? Honestly, the closest thing is eating uncooked Top Ramen, which plenty of people already do. This is just that concept but intentional and with better seasoning.
The catch: It's messy. Crumbs everywhere. The seasoning packet sometimes doesn't distribute evenly, so you get some bites that are plain and others that are flavor-bombed. Shake harder, I guess.
9. Orion Gosomi (오리온 고소미)
Price: ₩1,500 / ~$1.10
Gosomi is a cracker that doesn't try to be anything flashy, and that's exactly why it's great. It's a simple, thin, butter-flavored cracker with sesame seeds on top. That's it. And it's one of the most satisfying crackers I've ever eaten.
The texture is where it shines — crispy and flaky with a melt-in-your-mouth quality that reminds me of those fancy European butter biscuits your aunt brings to Christmas. But at ₩1,500. The sesame seeds add this toasty, nutty aroma that hits you as soon as you open the package, and the butter flavor is clean and not artificial-tasting at all.
I discovered Gosomi because my Korean coworker keeps them at her desk, and after stealing one (then two, then five), I started buying my own supply. They're perfect with coffee in the morning — way better than most breakfast crackers I've had.
Closest comparison would be Ritz crackers or maybe Club crackers, but thinner, flakier, and with that sesame twist.
The catch: They crumble. Like, aggressively. Eating these at your desk means cracker dust all over your keyboard. I've accepted this as a trade-off.
10. Haitai Matdongsan (해태 맛동산)
Price: ₩1,500 / ~$1.10
Matdongsan is another one of those deeply nostalgic Korean snacks. These are small, crunchy, deep-fried dough pieces coated in a peanut-sugar glaze. The taste is nutty, sweet, and slightly salty — like a Korean take on candied nuts but in snack form. The coating is slightly crunchy and crystallized, and it shatters when you bite into it to reveal the airy, crispy dough underneath.
These have been around forever. I'm talking since the 70s. And they still taste exactly as good as everyone here remembers from their childhood (or so I'm told — I've only been eating them for two years, but they're a permanent fixture in my snack rotation).
I buy the big bag at the Lotte Mart near Seoul Station usually. The smell is toasted peanuts and caramelized sugar. Honestly, it's kinda like honey-roasted peanut brittle meets a donut hole.
The catch: Sticky. Your fingers, your teeth, everything gets a coating of sugary glaze. These are not a polite snack. Eat them at home, not on the subway. Also, the sweetness can be a lot — I usually pair them with black coffee or barley tea.
11. Market O Real Brownie Chips (마켓오 리얼브라우니칩)
Price: ₩2,800 / ~$2.00
Okay this last one is a bit of a wildcard because it's technically more of a sweet crisp than a traditional chip. But Orion's Market O line does this thing where they take their popular Real Brownie recipe and turn it into thin, baked chocolate chips. And it works stupidly well.
Each chip is thin and crispy with a rich, dark chocolate flavor that actually tastes like real cocoa — not that waxy fake-chocolate thing you get with most chocolate-coated snacks. There are little chocolate chunks embedded in the chip too, which gives you pockets of fudgy texture inside the crunch.
I grabbed a box from the snack section at the Olive Young near Sinchon station (yes, Olive Young sells snacks — the ones near university areas always have a decent selection). The packaging is sleek and the individual portions are good for tossing in your bag.
Think of these as a more sophisticated version of Brownie Brittle (that American brand). Same concept, but the chocolate quality is noticeably better.
The catch: At ₩2,800 for a relatively small box, these are the most expensive pick on this list. They're a treat, not an everyday snack. And if you don't like dark chocolate, skip these — they lean bitter rather than sweet.
Quick Picks — If You're in a Rush
Best overall: Honey Butter Chip — there's a reason the whole country went crazy for it.
Best value: Ottogi Ppushu Ppushu at ₩1,000. A dollar for that much fun? Come on.
Best for gifting: Turtle Chips Choco Churros — unique enough to impress, universally likable.
Best with beer: Nongshim Shrimp Crackers. The salty-savory umami is perfect with a cold Cass or Kloud.
Best "hidden gem": Gosomi. Nobody outside Korea talks about these and that's criminal.
Where to Buy Korean Chips and Crackers
If you're in Seoul, you can literally find all of these at any convenience store (GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, Emart24). For bigger bags and better prices, hit up E-Mart, Lotte Mart, or Homeplus. The snack aisles in Korean supermarkets are genuinely overwhelming in the best way — plan to spend more time there than you intended.
If you're outside Korea, most of these are available on Amazon and at H-Mart if you've got one near you. Some Asian grocery stores carry the most popular ones (especially Honey Butter Chip and Shrimp Crackers). Pricing will be higher internationally — usually about 2-3x the Korean price — but for the ones you really love, it's still worth it.
I'm always rotating through new Korean snacks and updating my favorites, so I'll probably revisit this list later this year. But right now, these eleven are the ones I'd put in a care package for anyone who asks "what Korean snacks should I try?" Start with Honey Butter Chip and Shrimp Crackers if you want the classics, or go straight for Turtle Chips if you want something you've genuinely never experienced before. Your move.
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