Korean Convenience Store Sweet Potatoes & Bungeoppang 2026: What Winter Street Snacks Cost Before Your Seoul Trip

If you've seen reels of sweet potatoes roasting on hot stones inside a Korean convenience store, or fish-shaped pastries stacked on a street cart, that's Korea's cold-weather snack season kicking off. What those clips skip is what each one actually costs, why the same convenience-store sweet potato tastes different in November than in December, and why a street bungeoppang now costs about 1,000 won each. So we cross-checked official announcements from 7-Eleven, GS Retail and Ediya Coffee against Korean news reports to put together a price sheet in won and dollars, the variety calendar, a coffee discount, and the practical tips that matter before your Korea trip.

Photo: 7-Eleven Korea press photo (published by Wikitree, September 15, 2026) — note the 2,200 won price banner

1. The Short Answer — Korea's 2026 Winter Snack Price Sheet

Quick context: Korean convenience stores (GS25, 7-Eleven, CU) are everywhere — often several on one block — and in autumn and winter many of them put a stone roaster by the counter for goguma (roasted sweet potato) and a hot tray for eomuk (fish cake skewers). Dollar figures below use roughly ₩1,400 = $1 (September 2026, approximate — your card's rate will differ). Prices are as of September 25, 2026.

Snack	Price	Worth knowing
7-Eleven roasted sweet potato	₩2,200 (~$1.60), price frozen	Minimum weight up 30g; sold nationwide from mid-September
GS25 new-harvest roasted sweet potato	₩2,000 (~$1.40)	Haenam and Naju sweet potatoes, on sale since Aug 25
7-Eleven vegetable fish cake skewer	₩1,400 (~$1.00)	New item among 6 fish cake options
Ediya hotteok, bungeoppang, egg bread (6 items)	Not confirmed	Launched Sep 8; also on delivery apps
Street-cart bungeoppang (last winter's price)	₩1,000 (~$0.70) each, ₩1,500 (~$1.10) in busy areas	The old "3 for ₩1,000" is mostly gone

In short: a convenience-store sweet potato runs ₩2,000–2,200, and a street bungeoppang is about ₩1,000 each. That's cheap by most travelers' standards — under $2 for a hot snack you can eat walking around.

2. Convenience-Store Sweet Potatoes — 7-Eleven ₩2,200 vs GS25 ₩2,000

7-Eleven: same price, 30g more

7-Eleven started selling roasted sweet potatoes nationwide in mid-September (Korean outlets report either September 14 or 15). The headline: the price stays at ₩2,200 while the minimum weight goes up by 30g — effectively a small price cut.

The detail reels never mention: the variety changes with the season.

• Through November — "Hopungmi": a new Korean variety in the pumpkin sweet potato family, with deep orange flesh and a moist, soft texture.
• From December — "Beni Haruka": sweet potatoes cured for about three months after harvest. Curing makes them noticeably sweeter.

If your trip is in autumn, you'll get the moist one; winter visitors get the honey-sweet one. They're popular, too: last winter (October 2025–March 2026) 7-Eleven's roasted sweet potato sales rose 15% year on year, and fish cakes rose 7%.

GS25: an early harvest and ₩1,000 off coffee

Photo: GS Retail press photo (published by Newsis, August 23, 2026) — GS25's 2026 new-harvest sweet potatoes. The bag reads "군고구마" (gun-goguma, roasted sweet potato).

GS25 has been selling roasted sweet potatoes made from 2026 new-harvest crops from Haenam and Naju since August 25, a week earlier than usual, at ₩2,000 according to GS Retail's announcement. The chain bought about 800 tons from growers this year.

• Coffee combo: GS25 extended its "Cafe25 Americano combo" through the end of the year. Buy a roasted sweet potato and a Cafe25 iced (L) or hot (M) Americano is ₩1,000 off (~$0.70), per GS Retail's August announcement. Not every store may run it, so ask at the counter.
• It really sells: daily sweet potato sales per store were up 103% in January–July 2026. When temperatures dropped on September 5–7, GS25 fish cake sales jumped 121.7% and sweet potatoes 97.6% over the previous week, according to industry figures.

Convenience stores are also where Korea's snack trends start. If you're planning a GS25 run, our GS25 yogurt mochi guide covers another item worth grabbing.

3. Ediya's 6 "Street Snacks" — Korean Street Food in a Café

Photo: Ediya Coffee official poster (published by Financial News, September 8, 2026)

Ediya is one of Korea's largest coffee chains, and since September 8, 2026 its franchise stores nationwide sell six "street snacks" — handy if you want to try Korean street food somewhere warm with a seat:

• Seed hotteok — a pan-fried sweet pancake filled with brown sugar syrup and seeds
• Japchae hotteok (new) — filled with glass noodles
• Pizza hotteok (new)
• Red bean bungeoppang — the classic fish-shaped pastry
• Custard cream bungeoppang
• Ham & cheese egg bread (new)

They can also be ordered through the Ediya Members app and the Korean delivery apps Baemin, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo. Individual prices are not confirmed — none of the launch reports listed them, and Ediya's menu page was down when we checked — so check the price on the menu board.

4. Why Street Bungeoppang Now Costs ₩1,000 Each

Photo: Seoul Economic Daily, February 6, 2026 (a Seoul bungeoppang stall, reader-submitted)

Bungeoppang is Korea's fish-shaped waffle-like pastry, traditionally filled with sweet red bean paste and sold from street carts in winter. Last winter (per reports from January–February 2026), carts in central Seoul charged about ₩1,000 each, and up to ₩1,500 near Gangnam Station and Hongdae. Some franchise versions reached ₩2,500. The "3 for ₩1,000" deal Koreans remember from a year or two earlier is now hard to find. Reported examples: a stall near Konkuk University Station at 3 for ₩2,000, and a café selling 2 red bean ones for ₩2,700.

No prices for this autumn have been reported yet, so treat these as last winter's numbers.

The main reason is red beans. Korea's agricultural price data (KAMIS) put the 2025 wholesale price of domestic red beans at ₩772,894 per 40kg, about 65% above the five-year average (₩467,232). Retail red beans nearly doubled in three years, from ₩7,528 to ₩13,126 per 500g. Sugar, flour and LPG gas costs rose too. As carts became harder to find, frozen bungeoppang from brands like CJ (Bibigo), Ottogi and Pulmuone took off — Bibigo's sold 300,000 units last season, up about 30%, according to reports.

5. Practical Tips for Travelers

• Bring small cash for street carts — many carts take only cash or Korean bank transfers, which visitors usually can't use. A few ₩1,000 bills cover it.
• Convenience stores are easier — you pay at the counter like any other item, so this is the low-stress way to try roasted sweet potato.
• Not every store has a roaster or fish cake tray — only stores with the equipment sell them. If one doesn't, the next convenience store is usually a short walk away.
• Match the season — at 7-Eleven, moist Hopungmi through November, sweeter cured Beni Haruka from December.
• Pair it with coffee at GS25 — the ₩1,000 Americano discount runs through the end of the year at participating stores.
• Delivery apps may be tricky — Ediya's snacks and GS25 sweet potatoes can be delivered, but Korean delivery apps generally assume a Korean phone number and payment method. Walking in is simpler for most visitors.
• Taking some home or to your hotel? Don't refrigerate sweet potatoes — it hurts the taste and texture. Keep them wrapped in paper somewhere cool (12–15°C) and ventilated.
• Hand warmers are coming — 7-Eleven starts selling hot packs on October 2, with fleece tights, gloves and earmuffs from mid-October. Useful if your trip runs into late autumn.

Visiting in summer instead? Our Korean cup bingsu guide is the warm-weather version of this price comparison.

6. The Bottom Line

At Korean convenience stores, roasted sweet potato costs ₩2,200 at 7-Eleven (with 30g more) and ₩2,000 at GS25 (with ₩1,000 off an Americano). Street bungeoppang is now around ₩1,000 each because red bean prices soared. Ediya's six street snacks are an easy café alternative.

This guide reflects official announcements and Korean news reports as of September 25, 2026. Save this for your trip, and if you've tried a street bungeoppang in Korea this season, drop a comment with what you paid — no one has reported this autumn's cart prices yet. If anything has changed, let us know and we'll update it.

Sources: Korea Financial Times, Newspim, Joongang Economy News, Wikitree (Sep 15, 2026, 7-Eleven sweet potatoes and fish cakes); Newsis and Seoul Economic Daily (Aug 23, 2026, GS Retail announcement); industry roundup via Nate News (Sep 21, 2026); Financial News, Economy Science, Food Today (Sep 8, 2026, Ediya street snacks); Seoul Economic Daily (Feb 6, 2026) and Money Today (Jan 20, 2026) on bungeoppang prices and red beans; Korea Economic Daily (Aug 9, 2026, new-harvest sweet potatoes and storage). Images are press photos from 7-Eleven, GS Retail and Ediya Coffee, and a reader-submitted photo published by Seoul Economic Daily. Prices, promotions and sale dates can vary by store and change over time — check before you buy.