I need to talk about Korean chips, because once you go down this rabbit hole, there is no coming back. I walked into H-Mart one day intending to buy gochugaru and sesame oil, and I left with a bag full of Korean snacks I’d never heard of — Honey Butter Chips, shrimp chips, something called Turtle Chips that I grabbed purely because of the packaging. Every single one of them was incredible, and now I have a dedicated Korean snack section in my pantry that keeps growing.
Korean chips and snacks are genuinely different from what we’re used to in the US. The flavors are unexpected — corn, sweet potato, honey butter, seaweed, shrimp — and the textures are often lighter and crunchier than American chips. There’s a playfulness to Korean snack culture that I love. These aren’t just chips; they’re an experience. If you’re curious about Korean food beyond the main dishes, Korean chips are one of the most fun and accessible places to start.
Honey Butter Chips: The Korean Chip That Started a Craze
If you know anything about Korean chips, you probably know about Honey Butter Chips. When they launched in Korea in 2014, they caused an actual frenzy. People were lining up, stores were selling out, and there was a full-blown shortage. They became a cultural phenomenon — resold at markup prices, mentioned on Korean variety shows, and gifted as souvenirs to friends abroad.
So what makes Honey Butter Chips so special? They’re a ridged potato chip coated in a sweet honey-butter seasoning that somehow manages to be salty, sweet, buttery, and slightly tangy all at once. The flavor is unlike any American chip I’ve had. It’s not aggressively sweet — it’s more like a whisper of honey and butter over a well-salted chip. The balance is what makes them addictive. You eat one and immediately reach for another because your brain is trying to figure out why it’s so good.
They’re made by Haitai, one of the major Korean snack companies, and you can now find them at H-Mart, Asian grocery stores, and on Amazon. If you’ve never tried Korean chips before, Honey Butter Chips are the perfect starting point. They’re crowd-pleasers — I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like them.
Saewookkang (Shrimp Chips): Korea’s Iconic Snack
Saewookkang (새우깡) — shrimp-flavored chips made by Nongshim — are arguably the most iconic Korean snack of all time. They’ve been around since 1971, and they’re as much a part of Korean snack culture as Doritos are to American snack culture. Every Korean person grew up eating these.
These Korean chips are light, puffy, and have a distinctive shrimp flavor that’s savory without being fishy. If you’re wary of “shrimp-flavored” anything, I get it — but Saewookkang aren’t intense. They taste like a seaside breeze rather than a fish market. The texture is airy and crispy, almost like a puffed rice snack, and they’re incredibly easy to eat by the handful. They’re the kind of Korean chips you open intending to have a few and then suddenly the bag is empty.
Nongshim has expanded the line over the years — there’s now a spicy version, a wasabi version, and even a black pepper version. But the original is still the best seller and the one I’d recommend trying first. You can find Saewookkang at virtually any Asian grocery store in the US, and they’re consistently one of the cheapest Korean snacks on the shelf.
Turtle Chips, Onion Rings, and More Must-Try Korean Chips
Beyond the big names, Korean chips have an entire universe of flavors and textures worth exploring. Here are some of my other favorites:
Turtle Chips (Kkobuk Chips, 꼬북칩): These are layered corn snacks made by Orion that have a fascinating multi-layered texture — they’re crunchy on the outside with air pockets between the layers that give them an almost flaky quality. The corn soup flavor (yes, corn soup) is the most popular and tastes exactly like sweet Korean corn — warm, buttery, and slightly sweet. There’s also a chocolate churro flavor, an injeolmi (Korean rice cake) flavor, and others. Turtle Chips are the Korean chips I reach for most often because that texture is genuinely unique.
Onion Rings (양파링, Yangpa Ring): Made by Nongshim, these are ring-shaped onion-flavored snacks that are lighter and crunchier than American-style onion rings (the snack, not the fried food). They have a mild, sweet onion flavor and a satisfying crunch. They’re a Korean snack aisle staple and a great everyday chip.
Banana Kick (바나나킥): A corn puff snack with banana flavoring that sounds bizarre but is genuinely delicious. The banana flavor is more like banana milk (a hugely popular Korean drink) than actual bananas — sweet, creamy, slightly artificial in the best possible way. These are a nostalgic Korean childhood snack, and I can see why.
Poca Chips (포카칩): Orion’s answer to the classic potato chip. They come in original, onion, and sweet cheese flavors. The sweet cheese flavor is a great example of how Korean chips approach flavor differently — it’s savory and subtly sweet, like a cheesy biscuit in chip form.
Jolly Pong (죠리퐁): Not technically a chip, but a puffed wheat snack that tastes like sweetened cereal. Koreans eat them dry as a snack or — and this is genius — pour milk over them and eat them like cereal. They’re light, crunchy, and mildly sweet. Think of them as Korea’s answer to Honey Smacks, but in snack form.
Unique Korean Chip Flavors That You Won’t Find in American Snacks
One of the things I love most about Korean chips is how different the flavor profiles are from American snacks. American chips tend to stick to a fairly predictable range: barbecue, sour cream and onion, cheddar, salt and vinegar. Korean chips go in completely different directions.
Corn: Corn-flavored snacks are huge in Korea. Sweet corn, roasted corn, corn soup — the flavor shows up everywhere. It’s a warm, subtly sweet, buttery flavor that Americans don’t really have an equivalent for in the chip aisle.
Sweet potato: Sweet potato chips and sweet potato-flavored snacks are popular Korean chips. The flavor is genuinely like roasted sweet potato — earthy, sweet, and a little starchy. It works surprisingly well as a chip flavor.
Honey butter: This flavor has spawned an entire category in Korea. After the success of Honey Butter Chips, the honey butter flavor appeared on everything — crackers, popcorn, almonds, even chicken. It’s become a defining Korean snack flavor.
Seaweed: Seaweed-flavored snacks are common across Asia, but Korean versions often pair seaweed with sesame oil or wasabi for added depth. Crispy seaweed snacks (roasted and lightly salted sheets of seaweed) are a banchan staple that also doubles as an addictive Korean snack.
Injeolmi (rice cake): This one fascinates me. Injeolmi is a Korean rice cake coated in roasted soybean powder, and the flavor — nutty, slightly sweet, toasty — has been translated into chip form. Turtle Chips has an injeolmi flavor that actually captures this taste incredibly well.
The common thread in Korean chip flavors is a preference for mild sweetness and savory balance over intense, punchy seasoning. Korean chips are more about subtle, layered flavors than bold, hit-you-over-the-head seasoning. Once you calibrate your expectations, you start to appreciate how nuanced they are.
Where to Find Korean Chips in the US
The good news is that Korean chips are more accessible in the US than ever. Here’s where I find mine:
H-Mart: If you have an H-Mart near you, this is the best place to browse Korean chips. They have entire aisles dedicated to Korean snacks, and you can find everything from the mainstream brands to more niche flavors. The prices are usually the best you’ll find in a physical store, and there’s something fun about browsing the snack aisle and grabbing things based on how interesting the packaging looks.
Other Asian grocery stores: Korean grocery stores beyond H-Mart (like Lotte Plaza, Zion Market, or local Korean markets) carry extensive Korean chip selections. Even general Asian grocery stores often have a Korean snack section, though the selection may be smaller.
Amazon: Most popular Korean chips are available on Amazon, often in multi-packs. This is how I stock up on Honey Butter Chips and Turtle Chips when I can’t make it to H-Mart. Prices are slightly higher than in-store, but the convenience is hard to beat. Just check the seller reviews to make sure you’re getting fresh product.
Specialty snack subscription boxes: There are subscription boxes like Snack Fever and Korean Snack Box that send curated selections of Korean snacks to your door monthly. These are great if you want to discover new Korean chips without having to choose yourself — someone else does the curating, and you get surprised every month.
Regular American grocery stores: Increasingly, mainstream grocery stores are stocking Korean snacks in their international aisle. I’ve seen Honey Butter Chips and Shrimp Chips at regular supermarkets, which tells you how much Korean food culture has crossed over into the American mainstream.
Korean Snack Culture: More Than Just Chips
What I find really interesting about Korean chips and snacks is the culture around them. In Korea, snacking is deeply tied to convenience store culture. Korean convenience stores (like GS25, CU, and 7-Eleven) are legendary — they’re everywhere, they’re open 24/7, and they carry an absurd variety of snacks, drinks, and ready-to-eat meals. Browsing the snack aisle of a Korean convenience store is basically a national pastime.
Korean snacks are also deeply social. Sharing snacks is a natural part of Korean social life — you bring snacks to gatherings, you share chips with friends while watching a movie, you bring Korean snacks back from trips as gifts (this is a whole cultural practice called “gift snacks”). The portion sizes often reflect this sharing culture — many Korean chip bags are designed to be opened and shared among a group.
There’s also a constant cycle of innovation in Korean snacks. New flavors and limited editions are released constantly, and when something hits (like Honey Butter Chips), it becomes a cultural event. Korean snack brands pay attention to trends, collaborate with other food brands, and aren’t afraid to experiment with unusual flavor combinations. It keeps the snack aisle exciting in a way that American chip aisles sometimes aren’t.
For me, Korean chips have become one of the most fun parts of exploring Korean food. They’re accessible (no cooking required), they’re affordable, and they introduce you to Korean flavor preferences in a low-stakes, delicious way. If you haven’t ventured into the Korean snack aisle yet, start with Honey Butter Chips, grab a bag of Saewookkang, and pick up whatever Turtle Chips flavor catches your eye. Your snack game is about to level up significantly.