🍤 Korean Snacks · Verdict
Korean Shrimp Chips (Saewookkang), Ranked by an Actual Korean
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The short answer
Buy Spicy Saewookkang. It tastes like spicy Korean ramen seasoning on a shrimp chip — lightly spicy, savory, easy to enjoy — and it's on Amazon right now. Original is the kid-safe default and the easiest to find. Wasabi isn't hot, but its sharp kick makes it a beer snack, not a kid snack. The best two in the lineup — Mektaekkang (the most umami) and Yukpokkang (smoky and strong) — aren't sold in the US yet.
Every Korean has eaten Saewookkang. It's been around since 1971, it's in every convenience store, and it's the snack Korean parents hand over without thinking about it. If you've had it, you probably had the orange bag and thought "okay, shrimp Cheetos, cute" and moved on.
Here's what you missed: that orange bag is now the boring member of the family. Nongshim turned Saewookkang into a whole lineup, and the newer ones are built around something most Americans have never tasted.
The thing nobody explains: this is bar food
Korean bars serve dried seafood and dried meat as anju — food you order specifically to eat while drinking. And they come with a dipping sauce that sounds strange until you try it: mayonnaise mixed with soy sauce, often with a dab of wasabi stirred in.
It works because the mayo rounds off the soy sauce. Straight soy is aggressive and salty; mayo softens it into something creamy and savory that clings to whatever you dip. It's the house sauce for basically every dried snack on the table — mektae (dried pollack), beef jerky, dried squid.
If that combination sounds unfamiliar, you've almost certainly eaten its cousins. Spicy mayo at a sushi place is the same logic: mayo carrying a sharper flavor so it spreads evenly and stops being harsh. Fry sauce — mayo and ketchup — is the American version of the same instinct.
Now look at the lineup again. Shrimp. Dried pollack. Beef jerky. Wasabi. Nongshim has been quietly turning the Korean bar table into a snack aisle, one bag at a time.
Nongshim says this out loud with one of them, at least: the pollack flavor is officially called Mektaekkang Cheongyang Mayo — the mayo is literally in the product name — and Nongshim describes building it with pollack extract and roasted pollack powder. The others in the family lean the same direction. That part is my read, not a company statement.
1. Mektaekkang (먹태깡) — the best one, and you can't buy it here
Jinjja ✓
This is my favorite in the whole family, so let's get the bad news out of the way: it is not in US retail. Sorry.
It tastes like the bar snack it's imitating, and it has the deepest umami of the entire family — that's exactly why it's my number one. Savory and funky in the way dried fish is funky, with a creamy mayo-ish note and a background chili tingle from cheongyang pepper. It's the one that made me understand the line wasn't just doing novelty flavors.
The launch was genuinely chaotic. Nongshim put it out at the end of June 2023 and it sold over a million bags in the first week. Stores couldn't keep it in stock — some convenience stores placed orders and got nothing back. Nongshim raised production by 30 percent, then doubled it. People were reselling bags on Korean secondhand apps at a markup, which Koreans immediately compared to the Honey Butter Chip mania a decade earlier.
Who it's for: anyone who likes anchovy, bonito, XO sauce, or Caesar dressing. If umami-fishy is a compliment in your vocabulary, this is your bag.
Try it the Korean bar way: it's already good straight from the bag, but you can also dip it in plain mayonnaise — that's a nod to the mektae-and-mayo sauce it's named after. I tried both. Straight is great; dipped in mayo is also great, a little richer. Either way works, so don't overthink it.
Where: Korea trips, or a Korean seller on eBay who ships internationally.
2. Spicy Saewookkang (매운새우깡) — buy this one
Jinjja ✓
Black bag, orange-red seasoning. This is the one I'd actually tell you to put in your cart, because it's my pick of everything sold in the US.
The best way I can describe it: it tastes like someone dusted the original with spicy Korean ramen seasoning. If you've had the soup powder from a pack of Shin Ramyun, that savory-spicy seasoning-packet flavor is exactly the note here — a little punchy, a little addictive, the kind of thing your hand keeps going back to.
Heat level: lightly spicy, an easygoing heat you can just enjoy — nowhere near Buldak. Think a warm savory hum, not a punch. It's more flavorful and a bit bold than actually hot.
Who it's for: almost everyone. It's the upgrade pick with no downside unless you're heat-averse.
Check price on Amazon →3. Yukpokkang (육포깡) — beef jerky, turned into a chip
Jinjja ✓
The newest member of the family, and the most literal: yukpo means beef jerky, and the bag says Spicy Jerky Snack in English right on the front.
It delivers. This is the strongest-flavored one in the lineup by a wide margin — deeply savory, properly spicy, and built around a distinct smoky, char-grilled note rather than sweetness. It's not going for sweet at all; the whole point is that flame-grilled flavor. Closer to actually eating jerky than to eating a chip.
It's also the shape outlier. The pieces are wide and flat like jerky strips rather than the classic ridged sticks.
Who it's for: jerky people. If you keep Jack Link's in your car, this will make sense to you instantly. If you want something you can eat a whole bag of while watching TV, get the Spicy instead — this one is intense enough that a little goes a long way.
Where: Korea only, for now. It's new enough that it hasn't reached US shelves.
4. Original Saewookkang (새우깡) — the one every Korean grew up on
Jinjja ✓
Orange bag. Pale, ridged, lightly salty, faintly sweet, unmistakably shrimp. It's not exciting and it isn't trying to be — it's the default, the one my kids reach for without asking.
Two things Americans usually find surprising. First, the Korean bag states these are baked, not fried, which is not what you assume from the texture. Second, the flavor is much gentler than an American snack of the same category. If your reference point is Cheetos or Doritos, this will taste under-seasoned at first. Give it a handful — the shrimp comes forward and it stops tasting plain and starts tasting clean.
Fun bit of history: Nongshim developed it by trying to reverse-engineer Calbee's Japanese Kappa Ebisen, which reportedly took over a year and around 360 tons of flour to get right. The name came from the founder's daughter mispronouncing "Arirang" as "Arikkang" — that's where the -kkang ending on every snack in this article comes from.
Who it's for: kids, first-timers, anyone who wants something snackable rather than loud.
Check price on Amazon →5. Wasabi Saewookkang (와사비깡) — adults only, and I mean it
Grown-ups only
Green bag, green chips. This is where that bar sauce shows up most obviously — it's the mayo-soy-wasabi idea with the wasabi turned all the way up.
Important distinction: this one isn't really spicy at all — it's nose heat, not chili heat. It hits your sinuses the way real wasabi does at a sushi counter, sharp and quick, then vanishes. It won't burn your tongue. But that sharp wasabi kick is exactly the part kids don't like, and no amount of "it's not even hot" will talk them into a second piece.
Mine tried it once and were done. I keep it around anyway, because with a cold beer it's excellent.
Who it's for: adults who order extra wasabi. Skip it entirely if you're buying for children.
Where: harder than the first two. Nongshim USA lists it and H Mart stocks it, so plan on a Korean grocery rather than Amazon.
Check availability →
6. Rice Saewookkang (쌀새우깡) — the gentle one for little kids
For the kids
A pale yellow bag, made with rice, sold as the gentler and less salty version aimed at younger kids. The pieces are visibly thinner than the standard ones.
It's clean and light — because it's rice-based it sits easier, the kind of snack that doesn't feel heavy afterward. That's the whole appeal: a shrimp snack you can hand a small child without the salt of the regular one. The flip side is the obvious one — an adult will probably find it a little plain. There's not much going on beyond a mild, pleasant crunch.
Who it's for: toddlers and little kids, or a parent keeping sodium down. If you're an adult looking for flavor, this isn't the bag — get the Spicy. But for what it's meant to be, it does the job well.
Where: essentially Korea-only — I couldn't find it at Amazon, Target, or H Mart, just Korean sellers shipping direct through eBay.
What they actually look and sound like
About the ice cream — this is not a Korean thing
I want to be very clear about this, because the internet is full of invented "Korean traditions" and I'm not adding to the pile.
Dipping shrimp chips into ice cream is not a Korean custom. Nobody in Korea does this as a matter of course. It happened in my kitchen because my kids wanted sweet and salty at the same time and asked to try it, and it turned out to be good — salty shrimp against cold sweet cream, the same reason salted caramel and fries-in-a-Frosty work.
What Koreans actually pair these with is beer. Every one of these bags is anju — drinking food. That's the real cultural answer, and it's the reason the flavors go where they go.
Saewookkang flavors compared
| Flavor | Heat | Tastes like | Best for | Buy in the US? | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mektaekkang 먹태깡 |
🌶️🌶️ | Dried fish + creamy mayo | Umami lovers | No — Korea only | Best overall |
| Spicy 매운새우깡 |
🌶️ | Spicy ramen seasoning on shrimp | Almost everyone | Yes — Amazon | Buy this one |
| Yukpokkang 육포깡 |
🌶️🌶️🌶️ | Char-grilled spicy jerky | Jerky people | No — Korea only | Strongest flavor |
| Original 새우깡 |
– | Light salty shrimp | Kids, first-timers | Yes — Amazon, Target | The safe default |
| Wasabi 와사비깡 |
not hot, sharp | Sharp sinus wasabi kick | Adults, beer | Sometimes — H Mart | Grown-ups only |
| Rice 쌀새우깡 |
– | Clean, light, a bit plain | Toddlers, little kids | No — Korea only | Good for kids |
Buy first: Spicy Saewookkang
Tastes like spicy ramen seasoning on a shrimp chip — savory, lightly spicy, on Amazon, and the best thing in the lineup you can actually get.
Buy alongside: Original
The one kids will actually finish. Cheapest and most available — Target carries single bags.
Skip: Wasabi, if it's for kids
Great with beer, wrong for children. Nose heat is a very different thing from chili heat.
Building your first Korean snack haul?
I put together a starter list of the Korean snacks actually worth buying first — from a Korean.
See the starter list →Where to actually buy each one
This lineup splits cleanly into three tiers, and knowing which is which saves you a lot of fruitless searching.
- Order online today: Original and Spicy. Both are on Amazon in multipacks, and there are combo packs that bundle Original with Spicy if you want to taste them side by side. Target carries Original in single 2.6 oz bags.
- Go to a Korean grocery: Wasabi. Nongshim USA lists it as a product and H Mart stocks it, but it doesn't reliably show up on Amazon.
- Put it on your Korea list: Mektaekkang, Yukpokkang, Rice. These are domestic-market products. You'll find Korean eBay sellers shipping them internationally, but you'll pay more in shipping than the snack costs.
One buying tip that saves real money: single small bags on Amazon are expensive per gram. If there's an H Mart or any Korean grocery within driving distance, the same bag is usually a fraction of the price there. Buy the multipack online, or buy locally — buying single bags online is the worst of both.
My honest pick
If you're buying one bag today, make it Spicy Saewookkang. And if you're ever in Korea, or you have a friend flying back, ask for Mektaekkang — that's the one worth the suitcase space. All of these are jinjja good; the only genuine mismatch is handing the green bag to a seven-year-old.
Saewookkang FAQ
What is Saewookkang?
Korea's most famous shrimp snack, made by Nongshim since 1971 — short ridged sticks of wheat flour and ground shrimp. The Korean bag says they're baked, not fried. It's the snack essentially every Korean grew up eating, and it's since grown into a whole family of flavors.
Which Saewookkang flavor is the best?
My two favorites are Mektaekkang and Spicy Saewookkang. Mektaekkang has the deepest umami of the family and tastes like a Korean bar snack in chip form; Spicy tastes like spicy Korean ramen seasoning on a shrimp chip — savory and lightly spicy, not truly hot. Of the ones sold in the US, Spicy is the one to buy. Original is the safe, kid-friendly default.
Can you buy Saewookkang in the US?
Original and Spicy: yes — both are on Amazon in multipacks, and Target carries the Original in single bags. Wasabi: sometimes — Nongshim USA lists it and H Mart stocks it, so plan on a Korean grocery. Mektaekkang, Yukpokkang and Rice: no — those are Korea trips or eBay imports.
What is Mektaekkang and why was it so hard to buy?
It's a Saewookkang spin-off flavored after mektae, a dried pollack served in Korean bars with mayo-and-soy dipping sauce. Nongshim launched it at the end of June 2023 and it sold over a million bags in its first week. Shelves emptied as fast as stores restocked, Nongshim raised production by 30 percent, and people resold bags at a markup online — Koreans compared it directly to the Honey Butter Chip craze.
Is Wasabi Saewookkang too spicy for kids?
In my house, yes. It's nose heat, not chili heat — the sharp sinus hit you get from real wasabi, which lands very differently from chili burn. My kids tried it once and refused a second piece. Adults who order extra wasabi with sushi tend to love it, especially with beer.
What do Koreans eat Saewookkang with?
Beer. These are anju — food eaten alongside drinks — and the whole flavor line borrows from Korean bar snacks. And to be clear about the video above: dipping shrimp chips in ice cream is not a Korean tradition. That was my kids wanting sweet and salty at the same time. It's good, but it's a personal thing, not a cultural one.
Is Saewookkang spicy?
The Original isn't spicy at all — it's light and lightly salty. Spicy Saewookkang is only lightly spicy — an easygoing, savory heat far below Buldak territory. Yukpokkang is the hottest and most intense of the family, and Wasabi isn't hot at all, just sharp in the nose.