Korean snacks can be surprisingly different from what many foreigners are used to. Of course, Korea has plenty of classic sweet and salty snacks that are easy for anyone to enjoy, such as chocolate, cookies, and potato chips. But there are also some distinctly Korean choices, including snacks with seafood flavors.
Korea is a country where people traditionally eat a lot of seafood. In fact, when seafood consumption is considered as a whole—including raw fish, cooked seafood, shellfish, squid, and other types of seafood—Korea's per-capita consumption is often considered to be higher than Japan's. Japan may consume more seafood in raw forms such as sashimi, but Koreans also eat a huge variety of seafood in grilled, boiled, steamed, fermented, and other forms. In general, seafood is a very familiar part of the Korean diet.
That preference even appears in Korean snacks. Some popular snacks are flavored with shrimp, squid, octopus, or other seafood. For Koreans, this can be completely normal and even nostalgic. For foreigners, however, seafood-flavored snacks can be a very different experience.
A good example is Saewookkang, one of Korea's most famous and popular snacks. The name itself contains “saewoo,” meaning shrimp, and the package usually makes the shrimp flavor fairly obvious. The crackers really do have a noticeable shrimp-like aroma and savory seafood taste. They are salty, crunchy, and easy to snack on, which is one reason they are especially popular as a snack to eat with beer in Korea.
At the same time, Saewookkang can be a little challenging for someone trying it for the first time. Even if a person normally likes seafood, the idea of eating a crunchy snack that smells distinctly like shrimp can create some initial hesitation. The seafood aroma is much more noticeable than what many people expect from an ordinary potato chip or cracker.
Another example is Jagalchi, a Korean snack inspired by seafood. It is shaped somewhat like a small octopus and is associated with octopus and squid flavors. However, its seafood flavor can feel a little more ambiguous compared with Saewookkang. It is still recognizably seafood-like, but the flavor and aroma are not as immediately straightforward. Jagalchi is also somewhat less popular than Saewookkang, partly because Saewookkang has a particularly convenient size and texture for casual snacking.
For Koreans, though, both snacks are familiar and enjoyable. Their seafood flavors are not necessarily considered strange at all. They are simply another variation of the salty, savory flavors that Korean snack makers have developed over the years.
This is where Korean snacks can become interesting for foreigners. If a Korean snack has a picture of shrimp, squid, octopus, or another sea creature on the package, a foreign customer may immediately expect a very strong seafood flavor. That can create a psychological barrier before they even take the first bite. Even someone who enjoys seafood as a meal may find the combination of a seafood aroma with a dry, crunchy snack unfamiliar or slightly off-putting.
On the other hand, if the same basic snack were presented more like a familiar chocolate snack, potato chip, or cheese-flavored cracker—with less emphasis on the seafood imagery—it might be easier for foreigners to approach. The flavor itself could actually be quite enjoyable once the initial expectation and psychological barrier are removed.
That is one of the interesting things about Korean snacks: some of the flavors that feel completely ordinary to Koreans can be surprisingly exotic to foreigners. Seafood-flavored snacks are a perfect example. They may not be universally appealing at first, but for anyone willing to try something unusual, they offer a very Korean snacking experience.
