Korean Snack Boxes – 15 Must-Try Mystery Boxes!
Only a few years ago, I’d never heard of the snack box trend and wondered who would order them. However, as the trend has grown, I’ve had a few chances to try Korean snack boxes over the past couple of years. After trying them, I was pleasantly surprised, and I’m now all aboard the snack box trend!
The first Korean snack box I got to try was SnackFever, a box filled with tons of delectable treats created by Daebak Company. In the following months, I had the opportunity to try SeoulBox and Korea Box as well. All of these snack boxes had a fantastic variety of treats, and they left me wanting to try more!
However, as the trend of Korean snack boxes has picked up, the market has become very saturated. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are currently over 100 Korean snack boxes available online – especially when you consider that Etsy, Cratejoy and Amazon have tens (if not more) of snack boxes alone!
Due to the now difficult decision that must be made when deciding which snack box to try, I wanted to put together this post to help. I’ve tried many of the snack boxes in this post myself, and I’ve heard about those that I haven’t from other bloggers and reviewers. So that puts me in the unique position to be able to recommend the best Korean snack boxes to my readers.
With that being said, if you read through this post and still have some questions regarding Korean snack boxes, please feel free to reach out to me in the comments below. I try my best to reply to all comments, and I’ll do my best to recommend the best choice for you!
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What Is a Korean Snack box?
So, what exactly is a Korean snack box? I guess we should probably answer that before diving any deeper! I’m sure that a lot of you will already know what a snack box is. If you do, please feel free to skip this section. However, if you’re new to the snack box trend as I was, this section is for you!
A snack box is essentially a box full of snacks that have been curated for customers to try. Anyone can order Korean snacks online, but snack boxes allow you to have a hand-picked selection delivered to your door.
Korean snack boxes tend to be monthly or bimonthly. This means that you can choose to purchase boxes on a per-box basis, or you can subscribe to the service to have an assortment of Korean treats delivered on a pre-set basis – normally monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly.
Although it depends on the brand and snack box in question, each Korean snack box will normally have a range of savoury and sweet snacks. On top of this, many boxes also include ‘meal’ food such as ramyun or instant meals.
Why Should I Buy a Korean Snack box?
If you’re looking for the TL:DR as to why you should try out a Korean snack box, here is a quick rundown on what makes these such a great purchase:
- Often cheaper than purchasing the snacks outright
- Get an assorted selection of Korean snacks, many of which will be new
- Get a box tailored to dietary requirements such as vegan, vegetarian, or halal
- Try snacks that otherwise can’t be found outside of Korea
- Feel the excitement of never knowing what each Korean snack box will contain!
- Snack boxes also make for fantastic Korean gift ideas
By now, you might be wondering why you’d want to purchase a Korean snack box. After all, isn’t it cheaper to just buy the snacks you want online? Well, actually, snack boxes are often more inexpensive than buying the snacks outright!
In my SnackFever review, I researched the online prices of the products included in the boxes. I was pretty surprised to find that buying those snacks online would actually cost more! This is because these companies can purchase many of the snacks wholesale, making considerable savings in the process.
Other than being cheaper, why should you buy a Korean snack box? Well, another great reason to purchase snack boxes is that they are a fantastic way to explore the treats on offer in South Korea. I lived in Korea for six years, yet many snack boxes had foods I had never encountered before.
Even those who like to try everything will find new foods in snack boxes. The people in charge of selecting the snacks in each box put a lot of time and effort into finding exciting and new snacks. Therefore, if you’re like me and have tried a lot of Korean snacks over the years, you’re still likely to find at least one or two new flavours in every box.
On top of this, snack boxes are, simply put, exciting! You never know what you will get, which means that opening each box is an experience. Of course, the primary experience is chowing down on the snacks within, but even just opening the box is often a thrilling time.
Another reason is that snack boxes are curated. If you have specific dietary restrictions, you can still enjoy snack boxes! Some of the snack boxes on this list are halal, while others are vegetarian or vegan. Many Korean snack box companies create boxes tailored to specific dietary needs.
Finally, you can’t find many snacks in Korean snack boxes outside of Korea. So while you will encounter more common snacks in some boxes – like Pepero – you will also encounter snacks that, while readily available in Korea, aren’t available online outside of the country.
I won’t lie – when I first heard about snack boxes, I thought they were a way for companies to overcharge on cheap Korean snacks. However, after doing some research in my individual box reviews, I find this often opposite to the truth. Especially considering Korean snacks online are already expensive, snack boxes can be an excellent way to save money while having an exciting experience.
If you’re still unsure about Korean snack boxes, I recommend trying one of the services that allow you to purchase one-off boxes. This will enable you to experience what snack boxes are like without committing to an annual plan or subscription.
Best Korean Snack Boxes
Snack Box Name | Price (USD) | Items | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
SnackFever | $40 | 10+ | Premium snack box |
Korea Box | $25-$37 | 5+, 10+ | Two box ‘tiers’ |
Korean Snack Box | $25-$30 | 7+ | Two box ‘tiers’ |
Seoul Box | $37-$44 | 10+, 15+ | Halal, vegan, and vegetarian are avaliable. |
Umshik Box | $45 | 16 | No ‘samples’ box |
Snack Box Variety Pack | $28-$60 | 14+, 45+ | Massive Korean snack box with tons of snacks. |
Bu Hak Box | $50 | 15+ | Based on size rather than items. |
Gwaja Korean Snack Box | $35 | 15+ | Free EU shipping |
HealthandLiving Snack Box | $32 | 12+ | Popular snacks (great for first-time Korean snack lovers!) |
MunchAddict | $18-$42 | 6, 12 | Affordable, smaller snack box. |
Top Selling Ramen Box | $20 | 15+ | For ramyun lovers! Very affordable for the number of items. |
Seri’s Choice | $30 | 36 | Great variety of treats, but small servings. |
Korea Treat Box | $10-$40 | 7+, 20+ | Good U.K offering |
Snack Kim | $38 | 8+ | ‘Extreme’ flavour Korean snack box for the adventurous. |
Seoul Mills | $50 | 14 | Full-size snacks, not individual pieces. |
1. SnackFever
Price range: $37 per month to $40 per month depending on the length of the subscription.
Items per box: 10-13 items per box. Each box includes one small meal such as ramyun.
Regularity: Once per month.
SnackFever is perhaps the most famous Korean snack box… For good reason! They offer reasonable pricing for a large range of different Korean snacks. There is only one tier of box, meaning that you don’t need to worry about whether to get the smaller or larger box.
Each box comes with 10-13 items and they are delivered once per month. You can either purchase the boxes one at a time, three-monthly, six-monthly or annually. Each one of these subscription plans will decrease the cost per box slightly.
SnackFever boxes provide a good variety of snacks. Every box will also include one ready-made meal (such as ramyun). I noticed that many of the boxes also include one beverage that is unique to South Korea. If you are interested in seeing what a past box is included, you can check out my SnackFever subscription box review!
2. Korea Box
Price range: $25.99 for the regular box and $37.99 for the premium box.
Items per box: 5-7 items for the regular box and 10-13 for the premium box.
Regularity: Once per month.
Korea Box is a company that offers not only snack boxes but also a range of other subscription boxes. I recently tried the Korea Box Snackbox and was impressed with the range of items included.
Korea Box focuses solely on snacks. This means that rather than getting items such as ramyun in your box, you will generally only receive snack items. This means a lot of Korean chips, candies, chocolates, cookies and more! The boxes also sometimes include items such as tea.
There are two tiers of boxes offered, the regular box and the premium box. Each is delivered once per month and the premium box has approximately double the items (although this can vary). If you don’t want to spend too much, but would still like to experience Korean snacks, then the regular box is a nice choice to have.
The best part of Korea Box is that many of the snacks that can be found inside its boxes are hard to purchase elsewhere. It’s even hard to buy many of these Korean snacks online. This makes Korea Box’s offering rather unique.
3. Korean Snack Box
Price range: $24.95 for the medium box and $29.95 for the large box.
Items per box: 7-10 items per box, with the large box having more items.
Regularity: Once per month.
Korean Snack Box offers a wide range of varied snack boxes and is sure to have something for everyone. Where most other subscription snack boxes on this list offer only one totally random box every month, Korean Snack Box offers some choice.
Korean Snack Box has two choices of totally random boxes – the medium and large boxes. However, on top of this, they also offer other snack boxes such as the jelly snack box, cherry blossom box, Pepero snack box, and more! If there is a particular type of Korean snack that you are partial to then you might be able to find it in a snack box here.
The boxes from Korean Snack Box are also generally a bit cheaper than many other services. This is a nice bonus and means that you don’t need to spend as much if you would prefer not to.
4. Seoul Box
Price range: $36.95 for the deluxe box and $43.95 for the signature box.
Items per box: 10-12 items for the deluxe box and 15-18 for the signature box.
Regularity: Once per month.
Seoul Box currently provides one of the biggest Korean snack boxes on this list with their signature box. This box contains 15-18 food items and also has some other goodies such as K-pop merchandise, a tasting guide, and even access to a private community.
Seoul Box is also the only box on this list to currently offer a halal option. Most boxes on this list offer no choices for anyone looking for vegan or halal food. While Seoul Box doesn’t currently offer a vegan box, it is nice to see that they offer a halal option.
You can choose to either purchase Seoul Boxes separately, or you can subscribe to a quarterly or yearly plan. This allows you to try the box without the commitment if you are still unsure about a longer subscription. It also provides a great gift choice!
Want to learn more about Seoul Box? I recently did a full review of both their snack box and lifestyle box.
5. Umshik Box
Price range: $44.95 with two different box options available.
Items per box: 16 snack items per box.
Regularity: Once per month.
Umshik boxes pride themselves on not providing sample sizes of foods. Rather, they choose to include multiple smaller items such as candies and biscuits. On top of this, they also offer two choices of boxes – the Hana (one) and dul (two) boxes.
Both boxes are random, but they have a different variety of random snacks. This allows you to decide exactly which range of foods you would prefer to try. The boxes also include one cup/packet ramyun, allowing every customer to try one of Korea’s famous noodle flavours.
Umshik Korean snack boxes are also great in the range of snacks that they provide. They mix up the snacks and make sure to include both savoury and sweet snacks in every box. On top of this, they may also have some more unique flavours that you haven’t tried yet!
6. Korean Snack Box Variety Pack
Price range: $28 – $60 depending on box size
Items per box: 14 – 45 items per box
Regularity: One-off purchases.
If you’ll settle for nothing but the best range of snacks, this Korean snack box is for you. Put together by Unha’s Asian Snacks, the Korean Snack Box Variety Pack is by far the biggest you’ll find on this list! The best part? For the number of items in each box, these boxes are very fairly priced!
Starting with the smallest box, you can purchase a $28 box containing 14 Korean and Japanese snacks. If you’re looking to try only Korean snacks, you’ll want to consider moving up to the $43 box which contains 46 different Korean snacks. This is more than double what any other Korean snack box on this list offers!
while many of the items are items that are usually sold in bulk, Unha’s Asian Snack Boxes are some of the best snack boxes in regards to affordability and range of snacks. Even better, they have a great distribution of sweet and savoury snacks.
In each box, you can expect to find candy, snack foods such as biscuits and chips, and also a meal item or two. Another interesting aspect of these boxes is that there is no subscription – rather, each box can simply be bought as a one-off. This is a very different approach to the other Korean snack boxes on this list, but it’s something that many people (myself included) appreciate.
Purchase Korean Snack Box Variety Pack
7. Bu Hak Box
Price range: $50
Items per box: 15-20 items per box
Regularity: One-off purchases.
Bu Hak Box’s Korean Mystery Box contains just that – an assortment of mystery Korean snacks! Each box will contain 15-20 Korean snacks, depending on the size and value of each item. What makes Bu Hak Box stand out is that they are willing to work around customers’ preferences.
For example, if you have certain allergies you can contact the Korean snack box company and they will try to replace all of the problematic items with equal value items that you can enjoy. If you don’t like spicy food? No worries! They are happy to swap those items out too.
Another factor that makes Bu Hak Box unique is that the team behind the boxes try specifically to source snacks that aren’t available where you live. This means that they drop more common Korean snacks in favour of harder-to-find, more unique snacks.
Although this Korean Snack Box is a bit more pricey than many before it on the list, the snack boxes do contain some larger items that you won’t find in other snack boxes. For example, where many snack boxes include single servings of Chocopies from a larger box, Bu Hak Box may include the whole pack of Chocopies!
8. Gwaja Korean Snack Gift Box
Price range: $35
Items per box: 15-20 items per box
Regularity: One-off purchases.
Gwaja’s Korean Snack Gift Box is one of the most popular Korean snack boxes on Etsy. Since Gwaja means ‘candy’ in Korean, you can easily deduce what you might find in their snack boxes! If you’re in the EU, this is the best snack box choice on this list – not only is the box affordable, but shipping within the EU is free!
Each box contains a range of snacks. While Gwaja does not give a set number of items that will be contained in each box, they promise that the box will be filled to the brim with tasty treats. Based on my own experience, and the other reviews that I have read, boxes will contain around 15 – 25 items, depending on the size of the items within.
Similar to other Korean snack boxes on this list, you can make requests for certain types of snacks. If you are particularly fond of Korean ramyun, you can let the Gwaja team know and they will try their best to add snacks based on your preferences. With that being said, if you do request many big items such as ramyun, expect the box to contain fewer items.
Purchase Gwaja Korean Snack Box
9. Healthandliving Korean Snack Box
Price range: $32
Items per box: 12+ items per box
Regularity: One-off purchases.
The name of this particular Korean snack box seems like a juxtaposition – who’s purchasing snack boxes to be healthy? Anyway, if you’re looking for a smaller and more affordable Korean snack box, you’ll want to check out this one on Etsy.
With 12 or more items per box, you’ll find a range of Korean snacks in each box. With that being said, you will get less of a variety than you will with the larger Korean snack boxes on this list. For some people who can’t resist eating, however, the smaller selection of this box might be a blessing in disguise. I sure felt that way!
Healthandliving’s snack box offering is ideal if you are looking for a gift. It’s not too expensive (in fact, it’s quite affordable), and shipping is affordable. With that being said, this box ships from the U.K, so if you’re living in the U.K or sending it to a friend there, this is the best Korean snack box option on this list.
In each box, you will find a variety of popular Korean snacks. If you’re looking for less common snacks, this box is not the best choice on the list. However, if you’re just trying Korean snacks for the first time, this is the best place to start. Each box contains the best-selling ramyun, candies, chips, and other snacks from South Korea.
Purchase HealthandLiving Snack Box
10. MunchAddict Korean Snack Box
Price range: $18 – $42
Items per box: 6+ items per box
Regularity: Monthly
MunchAddict is a Korean snack box that I haven’t tried myself, but I’ve heard great things about it online. The most appealing aspect of this snack box is the very affordable prices. Starting at around $18 per month, everyone can enjoy some Korean snacks.
MunchAddict ships boxes every month and you can either choose to subscribe (in $20 and $40 tiers) or to purchase boxes one-off. In each $20 box, you can expect to find six snack items such as chips, candies, and sometimes ramyun. In the $40 boxes, you will find 12 food items as well as a unique Korean drink.
The most unique aspect of MunchAddict, and the website’s biggest advantage over competitors, is that they offer snacks from all over the world. Therefore, if you’re interested in trying other snacks, they can all be purchased alongside your Korean snack box. Want to try some Mexican snacks? Or Japanese? Indonesian? You can find them all here and add them to your order.
Purchase MunchAddict Snack Box
11. Korean Top Selling Ramen Noodle Mix
Price range: $20
Items per box: 15 items per box
Regularity: One-off purchases.
If you’re interested in trying Korean ramyun specifically, this is perhaps the best Korean snack box option out there. While there is a range of ramyun snack boxes, I’ve found this box to be the best priced while also containing a good selection of popular Korean ramyun.
In each box, you’ll find 15 different types of ramyun. For the price, this is a fantastic selection and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better offer. The one caveat is that these boxes aren’t ideal for repeat purchasers as you’ll receive many overlapping ramyun types. After all, these boxes are all about the top-selling ramyun!
With that being said, if you are a ramyun lover you might want to pick up these boxes from time to time. While some of the brands and flavours will overlap, each box usually contains a different ramyun or two. This means that you’ll not only get your favourite flavours from previous snack boxes but also a few new flavours to try.
This snack box by OrientalSupermarket includes ramyun from Korea’s biggest brands such as Nongshim, Ottogi and Samyang. Between these three brands, you will have the chance to receive almost every Korean ramyun! The only ramyun brand that’s really missing from these boxes is Paldo, which is a lesser-known ramyun brand anyway.
Purchase Top Selling Korean Ramyun Box
12. Seri’s Choice Korean Snack Box
Price range: $30
Items per box: 36 items per box
Regularity: One-off purchases.
I don’t know who Seri is, but they have good taste! In this Korean snack box, you’ll find 36 different Korean snacks, ranging from candies to instant tteokbokki. For a price under $40, this box is fantastic value and one of the best value Korean snack boxes on this list!
Snacks in this box from a variety of famous Korean snack brands such as Lotte, Crown, Orion, and more. No matter what random assortment of items you get in your box, you can rest assured that they are authentic snacks that can be found in Korea.
Since the box is sold on Amazon, you also get the benefits that shopping on the enormous shopping site gives. Although the box has fantastic ratings, you can rest assured that you are covered by Amazon’s consumer protection.
Since the box ships from South Korea, you may need to wait a while for your box to come. With that being said, the fantastic pricing and massive variety of snacks in each box more than make up for this wait. On top of that, since the boxes ship from Korea, you can rest doubly assured that the snacks are legitimate!
Purchase Seri’s Choice Korean Snack Box
13. Korea Treat Box
Price range: $10 – $40
Items per box: 7 – 20 items per box
Regularity: One-off purchases.
Korea Treat Box doesn’t sell just one box, but rather, they sell a range of different Korean snack boxes. Based in the U.K, Korea Treat Box has everything from very affordable mini snack boxes to large Korean ramyun boxes. Therefore, no matter what kinds of snacks you are interested in, Korea Treat Box is worth checking out!
Their primary box, the Korean snack box – Large, contains 20 snacks that range from crisps (pretty sure they’re called ‘chips’!) to Korean ramyun. The smallest Korean snack box contains the same range of food, but instead of having 20 items within you will find six to eight snacks. Of course, a significantly reduced price also accompanies the smaller treat box.
However, what makes Korea Treat Box unique is that they also have more select Korean snack boxes. At the time of writing, they also sell a BTS Korean snack box that features a BTS-branded canned coffee! This can make for a great collector’s item if you are a fan of BTS.
Alternatively, perhaps you want to celebrate spring? If you’re feeling happy with the warmer weather, show it off with the Cherry Blossom Treat Box! Over time, I’m sure these boxes will change and you’ll want to keep checking back to see what curated selection of goods Korea Treat Box has chosen.
14. Snack Kim
Price range: $38
Items per box: 8+ items per box
Regularity: Monthly
Snack Kim is a Korean snack box that I was unaware of until recently. One of my readers contacted me with a good review and I was curious to check out their website. The one thing that instantly stood out to me was the Challenge Box, a Korean snack box curated to include the most extreme snack flavours.
Ready to have your mouth burning from the spice of Fire Noodles? Or, looking to experience the extreme sour flavours of ultra-sour chewing candy? This box is your one-stop shop for extreme Korean snacks!
Of course, not everyone is so adventurous with their food. If this sounds like you, don’t worry! Snack Kim also has a range of ‘standard’ Korean snack boxes that are updated monthly. These boxes contain around 15 items and they are all popular snacks that you will find in Korea.
If you are looking to subscribe and receive snack boxes every month, Snack Kim offers small discounts for longer plans. These can be purchased in either 6-month or 12-month variants, and the 12-month plan will give you one month for free.
15. Seoul Mills
Price range: $50
Items per box: 14 items per box
Regularity: Monthly
You may already be aware of Seoul Mills as they are a large Korean retailer online. Stocking everything from K-beauty goods to Korean groceries, Seoul Mills is a great place to shop if you’re looking to combine a range of different Korean shopping in one place.
What I didn’t know until recently is that they also have their own spin on a Korean snack box. Since they already have a big supermarket department, it only makes sense that they also curate some of their own snack boxes. However, until recently, I had no idea that this snack box existed!
Seoul Mills’ Taste of Korea Snack Box is a bit more pricey than many of the Korean snack box options on this list. However, they also include full servings of most items. Rather than taking individually packaged goods out of their bulk packaging and selling them as separate items, Seoul Mills tends to include the full amount as you would normally buy the snacks.
This means that you will get a decent taste of each snack within the box. While the snacks within the box will change over time, you can expect to have around 15 items in each box. If you’re looking for a more premium Korean snack box experience, this is the box to check out!
Korean Snack Box FAQ
Which Korean Snack Box Is Best?
It really depends on what you want. If you want a premium, tailored experience, check out SnackFever. If you want the most snacks, check out the Korean Snack Box Variety Pack.
Where Can I Buy Korean Snack Boxes?
You can purchase Korean snack boxes either from their own websites, Amazon, or Etsy.
What Is the Best Affordable Korean Snack Box?
If you want an affordable Korean snack box, check out Korea treat Box and MunchAddict.
What Is the Biggest Korean Snack Box?
The biggest Korean snack box in terms of the number of items is the Korean Snack Box Variety Pack. In terms of item size, the biggest is Seoul Mills’ offering.
Are There Halal Korean Snack Boxes?
Yes! Seoul Box has the most famous halal Korean snack box.
Are There Vegetarian/Vegan Korean Snack Boxes?
Yes! Seoul Box has specific vegan snack boxes. Many snack boxes can also be made vegetarian or vegan if you ask.
What’s the Best Value Korean Snack Box?
The best value Korean snack box is the Korean Snack Box Variety Pack. In this box, you are paying only a little over $1 per item!