"Can They Really Be This Sweet?"... The Story Behind Convenience Store Honey Sweet Potatoes [Foodie X-Files]

Roasted sweet potatoes sold in stores by three major convenience store chains
They mainly use the Beni Haruka variety, known as "honey sweet potatoes"
Growing demand as a meal replacement... more customers buying them with milk and eggs

A cold breeze has begun to brush against our noses in the mornings and evenings. Forecasters say it will soon be autumn before we know it, followed by winter, when the cold makes us huddle up. Around this time of year, a certain street food naturally comes to mind. Warm, sweet roasted sweet potatoes are a classic choice. Hold one in your hand on the street and take a bite, and it warms you up and leaves you feeling full.

Even in the 20th century, it was common to see roasted sweet potato vendors in fur hats cooking sweet potatoes in metal drums on the street. But since the 21st century began, they have become a rare sight. Convenience stores have taken their place as roasted sweet potato vendors in our neighborhoods. You may have smelled the sweet aroma of roasted sweet potatoes near the entrance when stopping by a convenience store once or twice.

A roasted sweet potato purchased at a convenience store. Reporter Jeong Hyeonjin.

As wide temperature swings between day and night have continued recently, convenience stores have hurried to start selling roasted sweet potatoes. Sales of warm foods, including roasted sweet potatoes, are said to rise sharply when temperatures fall below 15 degrees Celsius. In this edition of Taste Expert X-Files, we take a closer look at everything about roasted sweet potatoes sold at convenience stores.

According to industry sources on October 18, CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven have recently been selling roasted sweet potatoes for 2,000-2,200 won each. With discounts through their apps and mobile carriers, customers can buy them for less than 2,000 won. Compared with buying raw sweet potatoes and cooking them at home in an air fryer, this is considered a good-value purchase.

These "modern-day roasted sweet potato vendors" cook the sweet potatoes on the spot in dedicated roasters set up in one corner of the store, rather than in the metal drums once seen on the street. Most roasters are smaller than traditional drums, but their designs vary by company, including drum-shaped and shelf-style models. The well-roasted sweet potatoes are placed in paper bags, and their darkened skins stand out.

Photographed by reporter Jeong Hyunjin and provided by CU.

The companies focus on winning over consumers by boosting the sweet potatoes' sweetness while preserving a soft texture. To do so, all three convenience store chains mainly use the Beniharuka cultivar, one of several sweet potato varieties. Beniharuka combines the qualities of chestnut sweet potatoes and pumpkin sweet potatoes, with a firm texture and a moist, intensely sweet flavor, as if drizzled with honey.

Many people may be familiar with chestnut and pumpkin sweet potatoes, but many consumers may be hearing of the Beniharuka cultivar for the first time. Developed in Japan in the 2000s, it is a foreign sweet potato variety that was introduced to South Korea in the 2010s. Because the cultivar's name is difficult to pronounce, it became widely known in South Korea as "honey sweet potato," highlighting its sweetness. Although it was developed in Japan, it is now also produced in large quantities in South Korea.

Beniharuka sweet potatoes are said to become even sweeter after being aged, rather than eaten right away. In fact, product descriptions from sellers of Beniharuka sweet potatoes sometimes advise that "if left to age for at least two weeks in a well-ventilated place, the starch converts into sugar, making the sweet potatoes moist and soft and increasing their sweetness."

CU sources Beniharuka sweet potatoes from places such as Gochang and sells them after a process known as "curing," in which they are aged in storage. GS25 uses Beniharuka sweet potatoes from places such as Haenam, Naju and Yeoju. Some stores are also reportedly testing pumpkin sweet potatoes.

7-Eleven uses Hofungmi, a new domestic cultivar in the pumpkin sweet potato family, through November. Starting in December, it will use Beniharuka sweet potatoes harvested and aged for three months. Hofungmi is said to have the advantage of retaining a moist texture even immediately after harvest. The company appears to have chosen varieties that can maximize sweetness at different times of the year.

In fact, Beniharuka's sweet and moist qualities proved to be a perfect fit for consumers' tastes, and at one point, foreign varieties accounted for more than 80% of domestic sweet potato production. Beniharuka was so popular that it made up half of that share. When Beniharuka was introduced in the early 2010s, Anno Beni, a Japanese pumpkin sweet potato variety, was in fashion. Beniharuka was more resistant to pests and diseases than Anno Beni and easier to grow. As consumers who preferred sweeter varieties continued to buy it, the Beniharuka era began.

Watching this trend, the government began developing domestic sweet potato varieties. In response to consumer demand for sweeter sweet potatoes, it has developed varieties such as Hofungmi, Sodammi and Jinyulmi and is focusing on expanding their distribution. As a result, the market share of domestically developed sweet potato varieties, measured by cultivation area, surged from 14.9% in 2016 to 41.4% in 2025.

Hofungmi, which 7-Eleven sells through November, measures 32.7 degrees Brix, a measure of sweetness, when roasted. Given that Shine Muscat grapes and peaches, which are both very sweet, measure around 20 degrees Brix, this gives an idea of just how sweet roasted sweet potatoes are.

Industry sources say more people are choosing sweet potatoes as snacks or meal replacements because they offer a relatively healthy way to enjoy sweetness compared with other processed foods, at a time when "low sugar" and "zero sugar" products are drawing attention. A convenience store representative said, "Sweet potatoes are high in dietary fiber and low in calories, so more people are using them in diet plans these days."

However, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, roasted sweet potatoes contain 188 kcal and 19.08 grams of sugars per 100 grams. Given their intense sweetness, consumers should keep in mind that their sugar content is higher than that of fruits such as apples, which contain 10.62 grams per 100 grams, and yellow peaches, which contain 9.29 grams.

We asked the three convenience store chains which items customers who buy roasted sweet potatoes most often purchase alongside them. Banana milk topped the list at CU, brewed coffee at GS25 and boiled eggs at 7-Eleven. Customers also buy drinks such as white milk, canned beer and bottled water, as well as other foods such as bananas, chicken breast and fresh Choco Pie. These items may reflect demand from customers who enjoy a substantial roasted sweet potato as a meal.

How about a bite of a sweet roasted sweet potato on a chilly day? Roasted sweet potatoes are not available at every location across the three convenience store chains. CU says more than 40% of its stores nationwide have dedicated roasters, while around 30% of GS25 and 7-Eleven stores do. Why not find out where the best roasted sweet potatoes are in your neighborhood and try some on a walk this weekend?

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.