Seoul Metropolitan Government teams up with healthy snack brand Pungsimdan on additive-free rice chips in two flavors; each pack contains 42–44 kcal and less than 1g of sugar

Two varieties of Seoul Snack 'Rice Chip.' [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Two varieties of Seoul Snack 'Rice Chip.' [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

By Shin Sang-yoon, The Herald Business

Seoul has launched its third city-branded food product — this time, a rice chip. The Seoul Metropolitan Government previously collaborated with private companies to release "Seoul Ramyun" in February 2024 and "Seoul Bread" in April this year.

The city government said Friday it partnered with healthy snack brand Pungsimdan to release "Seoul Snack Rice Chip," an additive-free, health-oriented rice cracker in two flavors. The product is the latest in the city's Seoul-branded food series and marks the first entry in the "Seoul Snack" lineup.

Pungsimdan, founded in 2013, specializes in nurungji — scorched-rice snacks — and low-sugar treats. The city said the company leads what it calls a "healthy and enjoyable snack culture" by eliminating refined sugar and artificial additives in favor of traditional Korean flavors and whole ingredients.

Unlike conventional snacks that tend to be rich and sweet, the Rice Chip uses just four ingredients — domestically grown new-crop rice, vegetables, sesame oil and sea salt — to highlight the natural taste of each component. The chips are baked rather than fried to achieve a crispy texture. Each pack of two chips contains 42 to 44 kcal, with sugar kept below 1g and sodium at or under 120mg.

The two flavors are vegetable fried rice and seaweed. A Seoul Metropolitan Government official said the product was inspired by the growing "healthy pleasure" trend, in which consumers seek both taste and nutrition. "The vegetable fried rice flavor draws on Korea's fried rice culture, while the seaweed flavor recreates the familiar Korean experience of wrapping rice in seaweed — reimagined as a convenient snack," the official said.

The vegetable fried rice packaging features Gwanghwamun, pine trees and clouds to evoke a traditional aesthetic, while the seaweed flavor packaging depicts the Han River at night alongside Seoul Moon imagery, pictographic art and a Han River drone show motif.

The city plans to follow the Rice Chip launch with a puffed-rice snack next month and a Chuseok holiday gift set in September, rolling out the Seoul Snack series in stages.

The Rice Chip is available at six Seoul My Soul shops, including the Seoul Gallery location, as well as the design store at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). It can also be purchased at the Pungsimdan cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Online, the product is sold through the DDP online mall, Coupang Inc, Naver Smart Store and Pungsimdan's official online shop. A box of five packs — two chips per pack — is priced at 6,400 won (about $4.60).

To mark the launch, a buy-one-get-one promotion runs through Wednesday at Seoul My Soul shops, the DDP Design Store and Pungsimdan's own online mall and Naver Smart Store.

The buy-one-get-one offer will continue at a Pungsimdan pop-up store at AK Plaza Bundang in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, from June 12 to June 25.

"Seoul Ramyun" and "Seoul Jajang," the dried-noodle products launched in February 2024, have since been exported to 19 countries with more than 1.66 million packs sold. "Seoul Bread," a reduced-sugar pastry released in late April, has surpassed 40,000 units sold.

"Following Seoul Ramyun and Seoul Bread, we are now expanding Seoul's health-focused food brand to include Seoul Snack and the Rice Chip," said Min Su-hong, the city's public relations planning officer. "We will continue to develop content-driven products that capture the flavors and culture of Seoul through collaboration with private companies."


ken@heraldcorp.com