# What should you buy at a Korean supermarket or convenience store, and what do the different chilli and soy products do?

> Korean supermarkets sell banchan by weight, chilli pastes and gift sets of Spam. What to buy, what each paste is for, and when kimjang happens.

- Source: https://clevertourists.com/resources/what-to-buy-at-a-grocery-store-in-south-korea
- Authors: Evan & Clara, Clever Tourists (first-hand, from years of travel across 20 countries)
- Published: 2025-11-15

A Korean supermarket is organised around one idea: you buy the side dishes, not just the ingredients. The **banchan** counter sells prepared vegetables, kimchi, fish cake and braised things by weight, and that is what a Korean fridge is actually stocked with. The rest of the shop is a small number of fermented staples — **gochujang**, **doenjang**, **gochugaru** — that do most of the flavouring in the cuisine. Get those three right and everything else follows.

## The three chilli and bean staples

**Gochujang** is the thick red fermented chilli-and-soybean paste. It is sweet, savoury and only moderately hot. Use it for marinades, stews and the sauce in bibimbap.

**Doenjang** is fermented soybean paste, the Korean answer to miso but stronger and chunkier. It is the base of *doenjang-jjigae* and appears in soups and vegetable dishes.

**Gochugaru** is dried chilli flakes, and it is not the same as the chilli powder used elsewhere: coarser, fruitier, less bitter. It is what makes kimchi red.

Two more worth knowing: **sesame oil** (toasted, used as a finishing oil and never for frying) and **soup soy** — a lighter soy sauce sold specifically for soups rather than for dipping.

## The banchan counter is the point

Supermarkets such as E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart, and the big department-store food halls, run long counters of prepared side dishes sold by weight. You point, they weigh, you take it home in a plastic tray.

This is not a tourist novelty — it is how the week gets fed. Buying three or four banchan and a bag of rice is a complete meal for two people.

**Kimchi** is sold in large bags and tubs, not small jars. Refrigerated kimchi cabinets are a standard fixture, and the volume tells you what a staple it is.

## Convenience stores and the gift-set culture

CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven run 24 hours and are genuinely good: triangle *kimbap*, ramyeon with hot water at the counter, boiled eggs, and in summer a freezer of *naengmyeon* broth.

The thing that confuses visitors is the **gift sets**. Stacked near the entrance you will find elaborate boxes of Spam, cooking oil, tuna and processed meat, tied with ribbon. These are real, standard gifts for the lunar new year (*Seollal*) and harvest festival (*Chuseok*). They are not a joke and they are not discounted tourist goods.

Alcohol is cheap and sold in supermarkets: **soju** in green bottles sold singly, and **makgeolli** in plastic bottles.

## What is in season, and when kimjang happens

**Spring** is *namul* — wild and cultivated greens — and strawberries, which Korea treats as a seasonal event.

**Summer** is *naengmyeon*, cold noodles, and watermelon; convenience stores lean hard into anything iced.

**Autumn** brings **kimjang**, the communal making of winter kimchi, usually in late autumn. Cabbage prices move sharply in that window and supermarkets sell cabbage in bulk with the other kimjang ingredients grouped together. **Chuseok** falls in autumn and *songpyeon*, the half-moon rice cake, appears everywhere.

**Winter** is tangerines from Jeju, which arrive by the box.

For the cooked versions rather than the shopping list, our [South Korea guide](https://clevertourists.com/guides/south-korea) covers where to eat them.

## Practical notes

**Cards work almost everywhere**, including tiny shops — Korea is one of the most card-friendly countries there is.

**Produce is often sold pre-packed** rather than loose, so you may not need to weigh anything. Where there is a scale, it prints a sticker you stick on the bag before the till.

**No tipping**, anywhere.

**Trash separation is taken seriously.** Convenience stores and supermarkets sell the correct bags, and recycling bins are separated by material.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between gochujang and gochugaru?

Gochujang is a thick fermented paste used in marinades and stews. Gochugaru is dried chilli flakes, coarser and fruitier, used to make kimchi and as a general chilli seasoning.

### Can you buy kimchi at a Korean supermarket?

Yes. Kimchi is sold in large bags and tubs from refrigerated cabinets, in far bigger quantities than small jars elsewhere, and there are usually several varieties by region and fermentation level.

### Why do Korean supermarkets sell Spam gift sets?

Spam and similar tinned goods are traditional gifts for Seollal and Chuseok. The elaborate boxes near the entrance are ordinary seasonal gifts, not tourist merchandise.

### Do Korean shops take foreign cards?

Yes. Cards are accepted almost everywhere including small shops and markets, so you rarely need cash.