October 21, 2025
SEOUL – Overseas tourists in South Korea continue to move away from traditional Korean restaurants and toward quick, everyday food.
A report released Monday by the Korea Tourism Organization confirms that convenience store snacks, coffee, waffles and fast food now account for a significant and growing share of food-related spending by tourists.
Based on foreign-issued credit card transactions from 2018 through July 2025, the fastest-growing categories were ice cream (up 35 percent annually), convenience store meals (34 percent), and croffles and waffles (25.5 percent).
These are no longer occasional novelty buys. In the first seven months of 2025 alone, tourists made about 13 million convenience store transactions, more than any other food category tracked.
Cafes followed with 8.9 million transactions, bakeries with 3 million and burger restaurants with 2.3 million. All three saw growth rates above 29 percent compared to the same period last year.
The appeal, in part, lies in the distinctly Korean spin on globally familiar formats, KTO explains. Many hamburger purchases were at domestic chains, six of the top 10 brands used by foreign visitors, and even global fast food outlets now offer Korea-only menu items and themed store interiors that draw locals and tourists alike.
Social media content further reflects the integration of these foods into the tourist experience. A review of foreign-language posts from January 2023 to July 2025 found that over 40 percent of mentions of Korean convenience stores included food-related keywords. Ramyen appeared most frequently (14.1 percent), followed by coffee (10.5 percent) and snacks (7 percent).
Some everyday Korean dishes are also gaining traction. Year-on-year data for July shows spending on noodle dishes and dumplings increased by 55.2 percent, while pork bone stew (called gamjatang in Korean) rose 44 percent. Traditional snack items saw a 76.9 percent jump.
Online trends have also influenced consumption patterns. For example, a social media trend featuring “honey rice cake cereal” or “ggultteok cereal” received more than 300,000 likes across international platforms, prompting Korean food companies to develop and release new products based on the idea.
Lee Mi-sook, who leads the Korea Tourism Organization’s tourism data strategy team, said that these food consumption patterns reflect broader shifts in how visitors want to engage with Korean culture. “As the latest trends spread globally in real time, Korean daily routines are becoming new experiences for international travelers,” she said.