Supermarkets, Cafes & Restaurants

Supermarkets 

1. Supermarkets

 

There are four major supermarkets in Korea:

 

1. GS The Fresh

2. E Mart (or Traders = Knock-off Costco)

3. Homeplus (used to be owned by Tesco)

4. Lotte Mart

 

 

2. Convenience Stores

All of these supermarkets have their own convenience stores, where you can buy snacks and top up your t money card. These convenience stores are on every street and, most of the time, within a couple meters of each other. They are open in 24/7 and have your basics and lots of snacks and drinks.

 

 

Main Convenience Stores:

1. GS

2. CU

3. Some 7/11’s

 

3. Online Grocery Shopping

 

After you have received your ARC and made a Korean phone number, you can order from Coupang and they have their own food ordering system which is cheaper than most supermarkets. However, like Amazon, you need to pay a monthly fee but then delivery is free and can be delivered the next day.

 

**You can use your overseas card

 

Online Groceries Delivery (Next day delivery for Seoul/Gyeonggi-do):

Coupang Fresh

Kurly

SSG 쓱배송

Other regions of Korea might take a little longer.

 

4. Local Traditional Markets

Korea has local markets, but it is really easy for foreigners to get scammed (and they are not really hygienic).

 

If you still want to take a look, type in “재래시장” or “전통시장” into your Kakao or Naver Maps.

 

 

 

 

Section 14: Cafe chains in Korea

 

Brand	Notes on pricing / positioning
빽다방 (Baek’s Coffee)	A major low‑cost chain: their basic Americano is around ₩1,500.
컴포즈커피 (Compose Coffee)	Another budget brand: basic Americano around ₩1,500.
메가MGC커피 (Mega MGC Coffee)	Also among the budget segment; large store count.
이디야커피 (Ediya Coffee)	A well‑established domestic chain with moderate pricing; more accessible.
할리스커피 (Hollys)	Mid‑to‑premium chain.
엔제리너스커피 (Angel‑in‑us Coffee)	Part of the higher‑full‑service café space.
파리바게뜨 (Paris Baguette)	While more bakery‑café than pure coffee chain, pricing and ambience lean premium.
투썸플레이스 (A Twosome Place)	Positioned as a premium dessert & coffee café.
스타벅스 Korea (Starbucks Korea)	Global premium brand; higher price tier (basic Americano often ₩4,500‑₩5,500 in Korea for premium cafés).
폴바셋 (Paul Bassett)	Specialty/coffeehouse chain with a premium focus. (Less widely listed but in the premium segment)

Korea has great coffee overall. If you want to have good ‘coffee’ type in ‘로스터리’ or ‘로스터스’ in your Kakao or Naver Maps. Places that roast their own beans usually have above average coffee. Korean coffee is generally weak and not sour.

*Other cafes of note (Single branch cafes famous for cakes or quality of coffee) 

City	Café Name
Seoul	Cafe Onion Anguk
	Cheongsudang Bakery
	Nakwon
	Solbangul Bakery
	Cafe Layered
	Scoff Bakehouse
Suwon	Notting Hill Bakery
	Cafe Choan
	Heol Coffee Roasters
	Forest Outings
	Pot-R
	Dolphin Coffee Roasters
Busan	Knotted Donuts
	Momos Coffee
	Aery Coffee
Daegu	Road Coffee
	Percent 14 3 Hanok Cafe
	Cafe Piper
Daejeon	Cafe Sasohan
	5% Coffee
	Leafful Coffee