Not Myeongdong or Hongdae: Tourists Are Heading to CU in Seongsu

CU, the Korean convenience-store chain, has recently become a new must-visit spot for overseas tourists. Located in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, the ‘CU Seongsu Dessert Park Store’ opened in February this year and quickly drew attention on social media, with many travelers calling it a ‘K-dessert mecca.’

According to data released by CU’s parent company BGF Retail, overseas payment accounted for 32% from the opening on February 12 through April 5. That is about 15 times the nationwide store average and roughly 12 percentage points higher than even tourist-heavy districts, which is a striking number.

The store is about 36 pyeong in size, and its biggest feature is that dessert items make up around 30% of the assortment. It brings together CU’s full dessert lineup and the kind of ‘K-convenience store food’ that foreign visitors love. It also spread quickly through YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms right after opening, becoming one of the essential stops for a trip to Korea.

So what ends up in foreign shoppers’ baskets? The clear No. 1 is the ‘Dubai Soft Chewy Cookie,’ whose sales are more than twice those of the No. 2 item and firmly holds the top spot. Many visitors saw the viral product on social media before traveling and headed straight to buy it as soon as they arrived in Korea. Next come ‘Yonsei Milk Fresh Cream Bread’ and the made-to-order ‘Fresh Fruit Smoothie - Mixed Berry.’ Priced at just 3,000 won, the smoothie is affordable and low in calories; more than 3,000 cups were sold in March alone, and demand was so strong that the store added another machine. Other items such as ‘Yonsei Milk Master Melon Cream Bread,’ ‘Binggrae Banana Milk,’ ‘SSuSSu Milk Sandwich Cookies,’ and ‘Salt Butter Rice Cake’ also made it onto the foreign-customer bestseller list.

Industry observers say Korea’s convenience-store dessert culture has spread through online communities amid the K-food boom, successfully winning over foreign visitors. Data also shows that the average spending amount of foreign customers is more than 20% higher than that of Korean customers, while related payment transactions have been growing at triple-digit rates every year.

CU says the success of this dessert-park format could be replicated in more stores located in areas with strong dessert demand, helping franchise partners improve sales. The company will also keep monitoring consumer demand and introduce more new store formats. If you love desserts, be sure to add this place to your Seongsu-dong itinerary next time you visit Korea!