[Edaily Reporter Han Jeon-jin ] I’ll try just about anything and report back to you. I’m interested in not only new products but also products making a comeback. I avoid simple reviews. I’ll also explain why a product is popular and why it was launched. I’ll try everything from gum to steaks at high-end restaurants. If there’s food to be had, I’ll go anywhere. These are “self-funded” reviews —I pay for everything out of my own pocket. <EDITOR’s Note>

Samgyeopsal has made its way into a snack bag. This is the story of “Original Samgyeopsal Chips (Sesame Oil & Salt Flavor)” released by Binggrae(005180). They’ve transformed that iconic combination—grilled pork belly dipped in a sesame oil and salt sauce—which every Korean knows well—into a snack. It’s as if they’ve packed the flavor of a Korean barbecue restaurant into a single bag of chips. Just looking at the name, it’s hard to tell if it’s a snack or a side dish. I picked up a bag at a convenience store and tried it myself.

The pork belly chips were first released at convenience stores. A 60g bag costs 1,700 won. Even the packaging is anything but ordinary. It depicts pork belly sizzling on a griddle covered by a pot lid, while a chip is dipped into a small bowl of sesame oil and salt sauce. The red calligraphy-style lettering makes it look just like the sign of a neighborhood barbecue joint. It has a B-grade retro vibe that’s rare to see on snack shelves these days. Binggrae explained that they designed it to be enjoyed not only as a snack but also as a bar snack.

As soon as I tore open the bag, the scent of sesame oil wafted out. It’s exactly the same aroma that rises when you pour sesame oil into a small bowl and sprinkle salt into it at a barbecue restaurant. Since I’d been skeptical after seeing the packaging, my first reaction was, “Oh?” The scent of the salted sauce is much stronger than that of grilled meat. Yet, images of a grill and soju glasses popped into my head, and my mouth started to water. At the very least, the smell is that of a barbecue restaurant.

They look the part, too. An orange stripe runs down the center of the white background, resembling a cross-section of pork belly with layers of fat and lean meat. Peppercorns are scattered here and there. Their round, curved, bite-sized shape resembles thinly sliced pork belly that has shrunk on the grill. However, the actual product is much lighter in color than the illustration on the package. Anyone familiar with Binggrae’s long-running snack, “Smoky Bacon Chips,” will find the shape familiar.

When I bit into a piece, a salty flavor hit me first, followed by the nutty aroma of sesame oil. It quite closely mimics the taste of crispy, thin-sliced pork belly dipped generously in salted sauce. Of course, it would be unreasonable to expect the juiciness or richness of the meat itself, but I felt it captured nearly half of that flavor. Added to this is the crunchy, crumbly texture of the thin chips. This is the first time I’ve experienced such a flavor in a snack.

The texture itself isn’t new. It’s essentially the same as Binggrae’s “KiiiKiii” (bulgogi flavor) and “Smoky Bacon Chips” (bacon flavor), which were released in the late 1980s. You could even say they’ve just changed the shape and seasoning. The flavor is saltier and nuttier than the bacon chips. After eating a few pieces, I found myself wanting to pair them with a drink—whether beer or soju. These are snacks deliberately crafted as drinking accompaniments, better suited for an adult’s after-work drinking session than as a snack for kids.

I just kept reaching for more. Before I knew it, the bag was half empty. However, once I got past that point, I started to feel that they were too salty to eat on their own. One bag contains 490 mg of sodium, which is 25% of the daily recommended intake. Opinions may vary on whether it’s worth finishing the whole bag without a drink. Still, I’d definitely buy them again.

Pork belly chips aren’t an entirely new snack. They’re closer to a modern take on the bacon chips that debuted in 1989, dressed up in the style of today’s trendy bar snacks. The children who ate bacon chips when they were young are now at an age where they enjoy pork belly with soju. The snack itself has matured along with its consumers. Nongshim(004370)Following the release of “Moktae-kkang,” Binggrae launched “Yukpo-kkang” last June as part of this same trend. Adult tastes are filling the void left by the declining number of children.

This is an even more pressing issue for Binggrae. Sales in the refrigerated division—which includes Banana-Flavored Milk and Yoplait—fell from 615.5 billion won in 2024 to 588.3 billion won last year. With its primary consumer base—children—dwindling, the company’s concerns are bound to deepen. To mark its 59th anniversary this year, Binggrae’s strategy wasn’t an unfamiliar new product, but rather the reinvention of a 37-year-old snack. A single bag of pork belly chips embodies this very situation.