This Week's Convenience Store Discoveries

The Yonsei Milk Cream Bread is a palm-sized round bun packed with white cream all the way to the edges — the kind of cross-section that photographs well when split in half. It's exclusive to CU convenience stores, with the standard version priced at 2,700 KRW and a chocolate variant at 2,800 KRW.

What sets it apart is the scale: as of April 2026, the series had sold more than 100 million units over four years and three months, averaging roughly 64,500 units a day, or about 45 every minute. CU credits the line with lifting its overall dessert sales 62.3 percent in 2025 and another 62.5 percent between January and March 2026. The bakery has kept it moving with 39 flavor varieties so far, releasing a new one roughly every two months — including a melon cream bun made with a master baker.

This is a Japanese Lotte product, imported into Korea by Lotte Wellfood and sold exclusively at 7-Eleven's chilled dessert section under the Korean name 생초코파이. It skips the marshmallow found in a typical choco pie, instead layering 100% dairy fresh cream and a moist cake between dark cocoa layers — cut it open and a bright white cream band shows between the cocoa. It's reported to sell for around 4,000 KRW based on consumer reviews.

A test batch of 60,000 units sold out within two weeks of its December 2024 debut, which led to a full launch in December 2025. In 2026 it's rolling out nationwide with a target of 3 million units.

Sold exclusively at CU, this cookie is an official collaboration with the Apgujeong bakery Neighbour's: a heavy, buttery cookie dough base with a chewy rice cake center, dusted with a sweet, salty, and slightly spicy rosé tteokbokki seasoning — tteokbokki being the spicy stir-fried rice cake dish the seasoning is modeled on. It costs around 2,700–3,000 KRW.

It went viral on TikTok as a Korean snack challenge and an "only-in-Korea" unhinged dessert concept, though reviews on the flavor itself are split — people either love the savory-sweet combination or find it confusing.

CJ built this gelato-style ice cream around its Haetbahn instant rice brand, and it's sold at both CU and GS25 for roughly $1.70 USD (2,200–2,500 KRW). The White Rice version mixes a vanilla ice cream base with real cooked rice grains for a chewy bite throughout, while the Brown Rice flavor leans into a toasted-grain profile that's popular with people who like deep, savory-sweet flavors.

CU's new Low-Sugar Rice Latte line pairs rice and milk under a low-sugar concept pitched as lighter than a regular latte. The Cream Plain variety is 300ml at 190 calories, while an Espresso version — flavored with Colombian coffee — comes in at 350ml and 155 calories. Both are positioned as a morning or snack drink.