25 Tasty Korean Snacks To Try Today

Snacks are great. Korean food is great. Korean snacks are the best of both worlds — sweet, spicy, crunchy, chewy, and everything in between. With accessibility at an all-time high thanks to TikTok and social media in general, people who may have otherwise been unfamiliar with this vibrant cuisine continue to uncover well-loved Korean dishes and ingredients. Meanwhile, the snack aisle is a lush landscape of flavors and textures just waiting to be explored.

From the fiery heat of Tteokbokki crisps to the cool, fruity delight of the Melona Bar, prepackaged Korean snacks offer something for everyone. Those among us who are gifted in the kitchen may also find pleasure in cooking up a homemade treat or two, like versatile triangle kimbap, or sweet danpatppang buns for baking enthusiasts. Whether you're a curious newcomer or a longtime fan, this article will cover some of our favorite Korean snacks to make at home or snag from the nearest store.

Triangle kimbap is the handheld, palm-sized version of classic kimbap rolls, but — you guessed it — in a triangle shape. They're similar to Japanese onigiri, but the fillings are different, with choices like beef bulgogi, spicy tuna, Jeonju bibimbap, and so on. The savory center is enveloped in rice and gim (seaweed paper) and wrapped in plastic to avoid getting soggy. 

Triangle kimbap can be easily found at Korean convenience stores, with handy instructions demonstrating the correct way to unwrap them so they remain intact. They can be tricky to make from scratch, but retailers like H Mart and Amazon sell triangle kimbap making kits that come with all the fix-ins you'll need to recreate them at home.

Snack giant Haitai makes some of the most craveable treats on the market. Its "Oh Yes!" bars are a fan-favorite, featuring a fluffy white cake coated in milk chocolate, with a layer of chocolate cream inside. The outer coating adds a satisfying bite, while the interior remains light and airy. 

The chocolate version is the most iconic, but the bars also come in flavors like pistachio, cookies and cream, green tea, and strawberry. Individually packaged and modest in size, Oh Yes! cakes offer a quick, sweet treat that isn't overly indulgent — so you can have as many as you want.

From the Korean word for "smash it," eating ppushu ppushu is a great way to take out pent up aggression. Each package comes with a block of uncooked noodles, which you crush up before opening. Then, add in the included seasoning packet and shake to distribute evenly. 

When Ppushu ppushu hit shelves in 1999, it was the first snack of its kind. Originally, its marketing was directed toward children, but it has since become a go-to beer pairing among older crowds. Ppushu ppushu is commonly available in four tasty flavors: grilled chicken, spicy rice cake, beef bulgogi, and BBQ.

When Melona's signature honeydew ice cream bars came out in 1992, the green melon was a relatively uncommon fruit in South Korea. The novelty made the treat a hit, as did its gelato-like creaminess and fresh taste — far superior to the hard, icy texture and diluted flavors you'd find in typical frozen fruit bars. 

Well balanced and not too sweet, Melona bars are uniquely refreshing on a hot summer day — or any season, for that matter. Not a fan of honeydew? Luckily, several other flavors exist, like trendy purple ube, and equally delicious options such as mango, banana, coconut, and strawberry.

Turtle Chips, or Kkobuk Chips, are renowned for their puffed four-layer structure, which results in a crisp, airy, melt-in-your-mouth texture that doesn't leave an oily residue on your fingers. Named for their shape, which roughly resembles a turtle's shell, the snack has seen a surge in popularity thanks to TikTok virality, gaining recognition among international audiences

Turtle Chips are unique for their variety of both sweet and savory flavors. Sweet Corn is the hero flavor, but other popular options are dessert-inspired Choco-Churro and Choco-Cinnamon, umami-rich Seaweed, super spicy Mala, as well as flavors potentially more familiar for Americans, like Sour Cream & Onion, Flamin' Lime, and Truffle.

A beloved sweet snack, Choco Heim is a thin, delicate wafer cookie filled with decadent chocolate-hazelnut cream. Also available as White Heim made with white chocolate, these crunchy treats feature a crisp, biscuit-like texture with a smooth, creamy hazelnut interior that closely resembles Nutella. 

Comparable to the cylindrical Pirouline wafer, Choco Heim makes for a delightful snack on its own, but also acts as an ideal companion for coffee or tea. Some devoted fans have suggested putting them in the freezer for a bit to amp up the crunch factor.

Koreans have been making these sweet, sticky cookies for over a millennium. While yakgwa are a very traditional treat, they have surged in popularity in recent years both in their native Korea and the United States. From "yak," meaning "medicine" and "gwa," meaning "confection," the translation of the word reflects the historical use of honey as a healing and restorative ingredient.

Yakgwa are made with a twice-fried method, creating flaky layers and crispiness that soaks up the rice syrup, honey, and ginger glaze. They come in a multitude of shapes and sizes depending on the mold that is used, but many take the form of a flower.

Versatile and customizable, jumeokbap are Korean rice balls that contain a lot of the same core ingredients as triangle kimbap or Japanese onigiri. Made by mixing sticky rice with various fillings and forming it into a sphere, the possibilities are endless when making jumeokbap. Basic recipes will solely include rice, sesame oil, and sesame seeds, while others have more filling combinations like bulgogi beef or salmon.

They are associated with financial strain or weathering hard times, having gained traction during the 1997 Asian financial crisis as a low-cost, easy-to-prepare meal or snack. They are common in packed lunches or bento boxes as simple, portable travel fare, and are often depicted rationed to soldiers in films set during the Korean War.

These tiny, spherical treats are highly addictive and beloved in Korea and the United States alike. Named HomeRun Balls for their round shape — and for being a winning snack — they are round, crispy puffs filled with a creamy chocolate custard interior. You'll most commonly find them in choco flavor, but lesser known varieties include pistachio, vanilla, and newly launched strawberry matcha.

Recent viral videos on TikTok have inspired viewers to give HomeRun Balls the air fryer treatment, which ensures a melted center. Meanwhile, other people throw them into a bowl of milk for a clever cereal hack.

Honey Butter Chips immediately rose to internet stardom after launching in 2014, following a slew of viral videos praising their perfect balance of sweet honey and rich, buttery flavors. They inspired what's known as the Honey Butter Craze, a nationwide shortage during which stores around South Korea were selling out, leading to customer rations, a frenzy of frustration, and subsequent price gouging in online marketplaces like eBay. Skeptics saw this as a deliberate stunt to create demand, but the overarching consensus was that they're just that good. 

A joint effort of Korean brand Haitai and Japanese Calbi, Honey Butter Chips has reportedly accumulated sales of 500 billion won ($376 million) since launching 10 years ago. Their success spawned copycats from competing brands like Lay's international assortments, but the OG are now stocked abundantly on shelves, with no sketchy secondhand sellers necessary.

Adzuki red beans are arguably the most popular dessert filling in Korea. Danpatppang are an exemplary pastry that demonstrate this, as these sweet red bean buns can be found in most Korean bakeries. Similar to their Japanese counterpart, known as Anpan rolls, their golden brown, egg-washed exterior is usually sprinkled with a few black sesame seeds for visuals and texture. 

A perfect on-the-go treat, these sweet baked breads are soft and fluffy on the outside, and smooth and creamy inside. They are also not difficult to recreate at home, with a simple yeasted dough and filling being the primary components, made even easier with the ubiquity of pre-packaged sweet red bean paste at most Asian markets.

Light, crispy, and packed with flavor, shrimp crackers (or chips, depending on the brand) are a quintessential snack in Korea, as well as other Asian countries like Japan and Indonesia. Made from french fry-shaped puffed wheat and ground shrimp, Nongshim Shrimp Crackers are crunchy, salty, slightly sweet, with just the right amount of fishy flavor. 

An additional layer of umami comes from ingredients like mushroom powder and anchovy extract, for a well-rounded profile that doesn't overwhelm the senses. A fiery version is made with red chili pepper, while the gojuchang flavor offers a sweet heat typical of this staple spicy paste found in a multitude of Korean dishes.

Lotte's Dream Cake is not unlike the famed Choco Pie, but instead of a marshmallow filling, these soft, chocolate coated cakes are stuffed with simple cream frosting. The term "mongsil" is Korean for "fluffy" (and a common dog name), leading to this snack's alternate moniker of "Mongshell" or "Mon Cher" Cake. 

The signature Dream Cake features a classic white sponge, while the cacao iteration may be preferable for chocolate lovers. The Strawberry Dream Cake offers a hint of fruitiness with a layer of strawberry glaze inside the filling. Any flavor goes great with a glass of milk, and some fans like to pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds to eat them soft.

More nutritious than your average bagged snack, Jolly Pong is a go-to for parents of young children. Not only is this puffed grain cereal enriched with fiber and vitamins, but it's also cleverly engineered to dissolve quickly, which circumvents any potential choking hazard, eliminates the need for milk, and makes it easy to eat on the go. 

Sweetened with oligosaccharide, a carbohydrate with probiotic properties, Jolly Pong is by no means categorized as a health food, but it does contain added digestive benefits that similar cereals, like the discontinued Honey Smacks, are lacking. The original flavor is mild and lightly sweet, with appealing alternatives like apple, peanut, cocoa, and coffee.

Nongshim's Cho Chung U-Gua is a crunchy, puffed rice snack coated in a sweet, sticky glaze. The inclusion of sesame provides a subtle nuttiness, balancing out the flavors so they're not overwhelmingly sweet.

"Cho cheong" refers to a sweet syrup (no, not Harry Potter's one-time girlfriend), while "gwa" means confection. These almost resemble a type of yakgwa, the traditional Korean fried honey cookies, but are shaped into jagged tubes. Meanwhile, the ingredient list doesn't mention any actual honey — though the packaging strongly suggests it.

An iconic snack in its own right, Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food of chewy rice cakes in a spicy red sauce that gained international recognition when it appeared in the renowned series Squid Game. This Tteokbokki in a bag from snack brand Cosmos is the antithesis of its predecessor in terms of texture — from soft and tender to distinctly crunchy. 

The flavor, on the other hand, remains consistent in its full-frontal heat from red chili paste, and the tube-like shape is reminiscent of the original as well. Slightly sweet with a shiny exterior glaze thanks to added sugar and corn syrup, these Tteobokki chips are an indulgent savory treat that don't require a fork.

As fun to look at as they are to eat, bungeoppang are a traditional snack you'd find on the streets in Korea during winter months. Translated to carp (bungeo) and bread (ppang), these fish-shaped waffles are a downsized descendant of the Japanese taiyaki. Made from an iron mold and typically filled with sweet red bean paste, vendors in recent years have evolved their bungeoppang offerings, expanding into savory territory with options like curry or pizza, alongside dessert flavors like sweet potato and various custards. 

Not everyone is a fan, however, of these iconic treats. During a visit to Korea, opinionated chef Gordon Ramsay was offered a bungeoppang, but unsurprisingly, he had some choice words for the sweet little fish.

A firm yet fresh gummy candy is a rarity. From the brand Lotte, these Malang Soft Cow chews evoke a marshmallow-like experience, but are more compact. Not only is the cow-adorned packaging adorable and visually enticing, but the product itself is a textural feat of food science, with fluffy, dense, chewy, and creamy qualities all at once. It's similar to taffy, but without the tooth-aching stickiness. 

Flavor wise, the original milk is mild and slightly sweet, while the strawberry milk has a subtle fruitiness to it. Plus, they're individually packaged, so no need to mess with resealable plastic bags or airtight containers for fear the gummies will lose their chewy freshness.

While shaved ice treats are not exclusive to any one country, bingsu is a summertime favorite in Korea akin to Filipino Halo Halo or Hawaiian shave ice. This refreshing dessert can take several forms, comprised of freshly shaved ice soaked in milk and bejeweled with toppings like fresh fruit, red beans, and ice cream. 

Unlike the American snow cone, which is made with densely packed, crushed ice, the consistency of bingsu is light and fluffy due to the shaving technique. Some modern versions, known as Injeolmi Bingsu, feature milk ice sorbet instead of water-based ice and added milk, for a softer texture and more concentrated dairy flavor.

Gosomi Tea Cookies fall somewhere on the snack spectrum between a biscuit and a cracker. The word "goso" in Korean is a descriptive term roughly translating to rich, nutty, toasty flavor. Composed primarily of wheat, sesame seeds, and a hint of coconut, their buttery, toasted aroma is a welcome companion to tea or coffee, as their name implies. 

A sprinkling of sugar enhances their subtle sweetness, while sesame and salt provide an earthy, umami finish. Their delicate, crispy mouthfeel also makes an excellent vehicle for cheese, butter, or fruit jam, so save a spot on your next charcuterie board for these tasty crackers.

With origins dating back to the Qing Dynasty in the 19th century, hotteok are crispy, sweet pancakes that draw crowds at street vendors in Korea every winter. Made with regular wheat or glutinous rice flour, classic hotteok are stuffed with a sticky, sweet filling (most commonly a brown sugar syrup that melts while cooking), as well as variations with honey, caramel, nuts, and warm spices. 

Vendors have also created colorful doughs with various mix-ins, like green tea, matcha, or savory cornmeal, as well as herbaceous mugwort. Many also make savory versions, like cheesy pizza hotteok, or yachae-hotteok, filled with veggies and noodles.

For a low-calorie, reasonably healthy snack, crunchy rice rolls are impressive. Though various manufacturers each have their own proprietary formulas, the ingredient list is typically simple and wholesome, consistently comprised of puffed rice, rice syrup, and minimal added sugar. 

Airy, crunchy, and mildly sweetened, puffed rice rolls are perfect for when you want to eat a lot of something without feeling bad about it. You can usually find them at most Asian supermarkets as well as online retailers like Amazon. They make a great kid-friendly alternative to bagged chips, cereal, or other packaged snack foods, which tend to be lacking in nutritional value.

Not unlike danpatppang, hoppang are dessert buns similarly filled with red bean paste, but steamed rather than baked. This leads to a more glutinous, chewy texture. Convenience stores often carry hoppang displayed in rotating steamers to keep them warm and fresh, while ready-to-steam, microwavable versions are found at grocery stores.

The term "hoppang" caught on in favor of its original generic name "jjinppang," when the brand Sanlip commercialized these sweet buns in 1970. The treat was coined "hoppang," derived from the word "pang" for bread, and the onomatopoeia "ho-ho" from the sound made when blowing on hot food to cool it off.

If you can withhold your judgement, allow us to introduce these Korean fried chicken-flavored snacks. Produced by Nongshim, a manufacturer best known for its spicy instant noodles like Shin Ramyun, these unique bites don't actually have any chicken in them, but that doesn't really matter. 

Available in nugget form or shaped like mini drumsticks, they have a savory, salty flavor and crispy breadcrumb coating that's the next best thing to a bucket of KFC when you're in a pinch. The hot BBQ flavor will satisfy cravings for spice, and the dipping options are endless.

The elegant presentation of these mini dessert cookies (AriZona Iced Tea vibes, no?) is reason enough to grab a box off the shelf. They're also delicious, with a crumbly, shortbread texture and shallow wells of shimmering peach jam in the center. The fruit flavor is more forward than you'd expect, while the cookie component remains mildly sweet so the filling is really the star of the show. 

These cookies are also available in strawberry tart, which has a deeper, richer colored jelly with the same amount of juicy fruity flavor. They're highly recommended to pair with the aesthetic of an afternoon tea party.