7-Eleven? South Korea's style is more like 7 times Eleven

Convenience stores in the country sell cocktails, gold bars and up to 70 new food items each week

- By Max Kim | rerortine rrom szouL

Photographs by TINA HSU For The Times THE SOUTH Korean firm CU runs more than 600 stores in Asia, including this one in Seoul.

In many parts of the world, convenience stores are the shops of last resort: cigarettes, sodas and laundry detergent. But in South Korea, you might find single-malt whiskies, $800 French wines, 24K gold bars, shampoo and conditioner refill stations, televisions or a dine-in instant noodle bar with more than 200 varieties of ramyon.

A customer might be able to pick up a package, wash and dry their clothes, or sign up for a new debit card.

The stores are best known for their numerous feats of “instant-izing” food, a process in which nearly every conceivable dish is turned into a packaged meal: spaghetti, Japanese udon, fried rice that you squeeze out of a tube. These have turned convenience stores into a $25-billion industry in South Korea, and those food products are churned out at a staggering pace: Up to 70 new food items hit the shelves each week, in effect offering a live feed of South Korean tastes.

“In South Korea’s food retail market, you go extinct if you're not quick to change,” says Chae Da-in, who adds that her obsession with convenience stores is decades old. “It’s all about being diverse and fast.”

Known in the national media and on social media as a “convenience store critic,” Chae is the author of three books on the world of convenience store foods, which has led to TV appearances and newspaper interviews.

Every Friday, she tours a handful of convenience stores near her home to keep up with what’s new. Over the last two decades, she estimates, she has consumed at least 800 varieties of convenience store samgak gimbap — rice wrapped in dried seaweed and a grab-and-go staple.

In recent years, Chae has watched her obsession go global. Much like South Korean movies, TV shows and music, South Korean convenience stores have become a cultural sensation.