From Full-Course Lunch Boxes to Songpyeon... Convenience-Store Industry Targets Solo Holiday-Goers with Ready-to-Eat Chuseok Meals

[Financial News] Convenience-store operators are strengthening their ready-to-eat Chuseok meal lineups as the number of one-person households continues to grow. Demand is rising among people who spend the holiday alone—often referred to as “solo holiday-goers”—who want to create a festive atmosphere by purchasing only what they need rather than preparing food themselves. Convenience stores are expanding their offerings from full-course lunch boxes to gimbap, rice balls and small-packaged desserts such as songpyeon, targeting a complete holiday meal that can be enjoyed alone with ease.
According to industry sources on the 8th, major convenience stores are rolling out ready-to-eat meals featuring signature holiday dishes ahead of Chuseok. During the holiday period, more consumers—particularly those from one- and two-person households—are turning to convenience stores for quick meals or small portions of traditional holiday food.
CU Convenience Store (CU) will launch Chuseok ready-to-eat meals featuring bulgogi, japchae, jeon and namul. According to CU, sales of holiday lunch boxes during the holiday period rose by 18.5% in 2023, 20.8% in 2024 and 12.2% in 2025 from the previous year, recording double-digit growth each year over the past three years. Last year, locations densely populated by one-person households—including university areas, studio-apartment neighborhoods and officetels—accounted for 60.5% of sales.
In response, CU has expanded this year’s lineup to include full-course lunch boxes, individual japchae and jeon dishes, and small packages of songpyeon. A BGF Retail official said, “As more consumers seek to enjoy only the food they need during the holidays with ease, we have expanded our offerings beyond dishes to include desserts as well.”
GS25 will also roll out ready-to-eat meals featuring signature holiday foods such as lunch boxes, bibimbap, jeon and tteokgalbi. On the 1st, it introduced “Lunch Box of the Month: Hangawi Edition,” using a nine-compartment container filled with rice, japchae, jeon, tteokgalbi and songpyeon. After the 15th, it will launch ready-to-eat meals combining jeon and japchae, gochujang bibimbap gimbap with bulgogi and namul, and rice balls topped with grilled maekjeok over gondre namul rice.
7-Eleven will introduce three holiday ready-to-eat meals incorporating customer feedback and technology designed to improve rice quality. Sales of 7-Eleven’s ready-to-eat meals themed around the lunar holidays, including last year’s Chuseok, rose from the previous year by 23% for triangle kimbap and 15% for lunch boxes. This year, the company expanded its lineup to gimbap and musubi after customers said they wanted a wider variety of holiday ready-to-eat meals rather than a uniform selection centered on lunch boxes. The gimbap and musubi products use the “Rice Project,” 7-Eleven’s core rice-quality innovation technology unveiled last April.
emart24 will introduce a full-course lunch box containing everything from signature holiday dishes to dessert. It includes black rice, pork bulgogi, jeon, japchae, three-color namul and mini yakgwa, allowing solo customers to enjoy both a holiday meal and dessert in one package. The company said the product reflects the fact that its holiday lunch box ranked second in the lunch-box category by sales shortly after its launch during last year’s Chuseok holiday period.
An industry official said, “As consumption aimed at creating a simple holiday atmosphere grows, particularly among people who spend the holiday alone, demand for convenient holiday foods at convenience stores during the holiday period continues.”
[email protected] Hyunji Kim Reporter