“Our understanding is that younger generation from teens to 20s are generally favorable to Korean culture thanks to the hallyu wave of Korean pop culture and popularity of Korean cosmetic and are more prone to try new things,” said the company. Unlike local branches, GS25’s Vietnamese stores will have cooking stations. It will sell popular and simple Korean snacks like dumplings, cup rice and tteokbokki cooked on the spot. Local food like sticky rice and banh mi, Vietnamese wheat bread, will also be served. “Market research found out that Vietnamese consumers prefer freshly cooked food and some convenience stores there have small cooking stations,” said a GS25 spokesman. “Our differentiating point will be that we offer Korean food.” Vietnam’s GS25s will also have ready-made Korean snacks like boxed lunches and samgak gimbap. The products are made at a local factory that GS25 will oversee. “Vietnam’s economic growth rate has been high, which is why we thought it would be a good starting point for our overseas business,” said GS25 CEO Cho Yoon-sung. “We plan to launch businesses in other countries across Asia in the future, including China and Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia.”