Korean Snack Craze Sparks 5x Markup as Social Media Fuels Rapid-Fire Food Trends

A new wave of food trends is sweeping South Korea's social media landscape, with limited-edition snacks trading at five times their retail price and viral recipes dominating short-form video platforms. However, growing consumer fatigue over increasingly shorter trend cycles is sparking criticism that such phenomena distort food culture and encourage unnecessary overconsumption.

According to industry sources on May 11, Orion's recently launched spring limited-edition "Chokchokhan Hwang Cheese Chip" is now trading online at more than five times its retail price. As word-of-mouth drove demand through the roof, a 16-pack box is selling for 25,100 won on e-commerce platforms like Coupang—5.6 times the regular price of 4,480 won. Some consumers have even begun "Hwang Cheese Chip tours," scouring neighborhood supermarkets and convenience stores in search of the product.

"I've been on a week-long journey to find Chokchokhan Hwang Cheese Chip. I've visited five local marts but only found empty shelves," one online user wrote. Another posted, "I bought five boxes when they were available, but they disappeared in no time." Secondhand trading platforms are also flooded with posts asking where to find the snack.

As panic-buying intensified amid fears of discontinuation, Orion said it is "reviewing whether to make the product a permanent offering." The company reportedly received about 100 requests for year-round sales at its customer service center over the past ten days alone.

From Desserts to Meals: Short-Form Videos Drive Ultra-Short Trends

The trend is spreading beyond snacks to desserts and meal items. The baton from the "Dubai Chewy Cookie" craze has been passed to "butter rice cake (huangyou)," a variation of a traditional Shanghai dessert. Despite packing 300 to 400 calories per piece, the treat—crispy on the outside and chewy inside—is gaining a cult following in Korea. Fans describe it as "a taste you can't resist even knowing it'll make you gain weight," driving demand for overseas direct purchases.

TV personality Kang Ho-dong's "spring cabbage bibimbap" challenge, which went viral on short-form platforms, has also taken hold. Convenience store chains moved quickly to capitalize. Emart24 launched a presale discount promotion for spring cabbage, while GS25 and CU announced plans to release ready-made bibimbap products complete with rice and leafy vegetables, racing to capture seasonal trend demand.

"It Changes Overnight": Criticism Grows Over 'Forced Trends'

As trend cycles grow ever shorter, criticism is mounting that these are "artificially manufactured fads." Rather than becoming genuine parts of food culture, content focused solely on stimulating flavors and convenience is being mass-produced simply to boost social media views, critics say.

"A new trend appears every time I wake up," one online community user wrote. Others commented, "I doubt this would have gotten so much attention without social media," and "Retailers and influencers are colluding to manufacture forced trends."

Experts say these "flash trends," amplified by social media algorithms, are creating a form of trend addiction among consumers. They warn that the pursuit of increasingly novel and provocative menu items to capture public attention is encouraging unnecessary overconsumption.