Singapore’s Korean food scene has evolved far beyond instant noodles and kimchi packets tucked into supermarket corners. Today, Korean grocery stores across the island have become destinations in their own right. Some specialise in premium imported ingredients and Korean barbecue meats, while others recreate the experience of wandering through a convenience store in Seoul late at night, complete with ramyeon walls, banana milk fridges and trending snacks from Korea.
For many Singaporeans, these stores are no longer just places to buy groceries. They are part of a wider lifestyle interest shaped by K-dramas, Korean cooking, mukbang culture and travel. You now see shoppers hunting for frozen mandu featured on YouTube, searching for the exact ramyeon eaten in a drama scene, or stocking up on banchan and marinated meats for a weekend Korean barbecue dinner at home.
About This Guide
Cooking Korean food at home in Singapore has become much easier, but the experience can vary considerably depending on where you shop. A large supermarket may be perfectly adequate when all you need is gochujang and instant ramyeon, while a dedicated Korean grocery store becomes much more useful when you are looking for specific kimchi brands, banchan, Korean cuts of meat, frozen foods, cooking sauces or ingredients that are difficult to substitute.
This guide brings together some of the best Korean grocery stores in Singapore, with options for different kinds of shoppers rather than simply focusing on whichever supermarket has the biggest footprint. We look at established Korean supermarket chains, smaller specialist grocers and conveniently located stores where you can pick up everything from everyday pantry staples to snacks you may have first spotted in Korea.
The aim is simple: to help you work out which Korean supermarket is actually worth visiting for what you need.
Who Is This Guide For?
This guide is for anyone looking for Korean groceries in Singapore, whether you regularly cook Korean food at home or simply want somewhere better stocked than the Korean aisle at your neighbourhood supermarket.
It is particularly useful if you are searching for ingredients for dishes such as kimchi jjigae, tteokbokki, japchae, Korean barbecue or army stew and want more choice than the handful of mainstream brands typically available at general supermarkets.
Korean snack fans will find plenty to explore too. Dedicated Korean grocery stores are often where you will encounter less familiar ramyeon varieties, drinks, ice creams, frozen foods, seaweed, sauces and newly imported snacks.
For Korean residents in Singapore, these stores can also be useful for finding familiar everyday products and ingredients that are otherwise surprisingly difficult to replace.
Key Takeaways
- Best for a wide range of everyday Korean groceries: Shine Korea Supermarket
- Best for traditional Korean grocery shopping: Koryo Mart
- Best for fresh and frozen Korean ingredients: Sol Mart
- Best for convenient mall locations: Lee Mart
- Best for Orchard Road shopping: K-Market
- Best for Korean pantry essentials: Shine Korea and Koryo Mart both offer particularly broad selections for stocking a Korean kitchen.
- Best for snacks and ramyeon: Larger Korean supermarkets are usually the better choice because they can carry considerably more varieties than conventional Singapore supermarkets.
- Best shopping strategy: Choose the store based on what you are buying. There is little reason to travel across Singapore for standard gochujang or Shin Ramyun, but a specialist Korean grocer becomes much more worthwhile when you need particular brands, fresh banchan, frozen products or less common cooking ingredients.
| Korean Grocery Store | Best For | Specialty | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shine Korea | Everyday Korean grocery shopping | Wide range of Korean essentials | Accessible locations islandwide |
| Best overall Korean grocery store in Singapore for convenience, variety and reliable everyday shopping. | |||
| Koryo Mart | Korean snacks and drinks | Convenience-store-style products | Huge snack selection |
| Sol Mart | Traditional Korean pantry shopping | Cooking ingredients and frozen foods | Popular with Korean families |
| Lee Mart | Premium imported ingredients | Fresh produce and specialty goods | More curated supermarket feel |
| Lotte Mart Express | Korean convenience store experience | DIY ramyeon and trendy snacks | Immersive Korean retail concept |
| Chorok Market | Upscale Korean groceries | Premium Korean ingredients | Refined shopping experience |
| The Butcher’s Dining | Korean BBQ meats | Premium butcher cuts and marinades | Hard-to-find gourmet Korean products |
| Seoul Butchery | Home Korean BBQ setups | Fresh and frozen meats | Strong meat-focused selection |
| Jang Bom | Authentic Korean home cooking | Traditional pantry staples | Useful for Korean soups and stews |
| Best for serious home cooks recreating authentic Korean dishes from scratch. | |||
| Babchingu | Trending Korean snacks | Convenience foods and desserts | Young and trend-focused vibe |
1. Shine Korea
Shine Korea remains one of the most recognisable Korean supermarket chains in Singapore, especially for people who cook Korean food regularly at home. Part of its appeal comes from accessibility. With multiple outlets across the island, it has become the kind of store many shoppers visit casually after work rather than making a dedicated grocery trip.
The stores carry a broad range of essentials, from instant noodles and frozen dumplings to kimchi, seaweed, sauces, canned drinks and Korean ice cream. While some Korean marts lean heavily into trendy imported snacks, Shine Korea feels more balanced. It works equally well whether you are looking for ingredients to make kimchi jjigae or simply craving a packet of honey butter chips.
The Burlington Square branch near Bugis remains one of the more popular outlets because of its size and central location.
Address: 175 Bencoolen Street, #01-10/11 Burlington Square, Singapore 189649
Opening Hours: Daily: 10.30am – 9.30pm
Website: https://www.shinekorea.com.sg/
2. Koryo Mart
Koryo Mart feels closer to a Korean convenience store than a traditional supermarket, which is exactly why so many younger shoppers love it.
Walking into Koryo Mart usually means being greeted by shelves of brightly coloured snacks, imported instant noodles, refrigerated drinks and trending Korean convenience foods. It is the sort of place where you go in intending to buy one packet of ramyeon and somehow leave with Korean grape juice, tteokbokki chips and frozen hotteok.
The chain has expanded aggressively over the years and now has outlets in several neighbourhoods across Singapore. The Bukit Timah branch is especially popular among students and late-night snack shoppers because of its extended operating hours.
Address: 17 Lorong Kilat, Singapore 598139
Opening Hours: Daily: 10.30am – 10.30pm
Website: https://www.koryomart.co.kr/
3. Sol Mart
Sol Mart has long been a staple among Korean families living in Singapore. Compared to trendier marts that focus heavily on viral snacks and convenience foods, Sol Mart feels more practical and pantry-oriented.
The stores are especially useful for home cooks making Korean soups, stews and side dishes regularly. You will find larger selections of ingredients like doenjang, gochujang, frozen rice cakes, soup bases, marinated side dishes and Korean cooking staples that are harder to locate in regular supermarkets.
There is something reassuringly old-school about Sol Mart. It feels less curated for social media and more designed for actual day-to-day cooking.
Address: 10 Sinaran Drive, #04-20/21/22/23/24 Square 2, Singapore 307506
Opening Hours: Daily: 9.30am – 9.30pm
4. Lee Mart
Lee Mart appeals to shoppers looking for a slightly more premium Korean grocery experience. The stores tend to feel cleaner, more curated and more produce-focused compared to convenience-oriented Korean marts.
One reason Lee Mart remains popular is its range of imported Korean fruits, fresh vegetables and ready-to-eat side dishes. It is also one of the better places to hunt for slightly harder-to-find Korean pantry products and frozen seafood items.
The Orchardgateway outlet is especially convenient for central shoppers and office workers around Orchard Road.
Address: 277 Orchard Road, B1-05 Orchardgateway, Singapore 238858
Opening Hours: Daily: 10am – 10pm
Website: https://leemart.sg/
5. Lotte Mart Express
Lotte Mart Express is one of the newer additions to Singapore’s Korean grocery scene, and it feels noticeably different from traditional marts.
Rather than simply functioning as a supermarket, the store recreates part of the Korean retail experience itself. The DIY ramyeon stations have become particularly popular, allowing shoppers to cook and eat instant noodles on-site much like they would in Korea. There are also walls of snacks, convenience-store drinks and trendy imported products that feel highly reminiscent of Seoul convenience stores.
The atmosphere is intentionally immersive and youthful, which explains why it attracts large crowds of students, tourists and K-culture fans.
Address: 50 Jurong Gateway Road, B1-21/22, Singapore 609690
6. Chorok Market
Chorok Market offers a more refined and upscale Korean supermarket experience. Compared to marts focused on instant noodles and convenience foods, Chorok Market leans more heavily into premium produce and curated grocery shopping.
The store is especially appealing for shoppers looking for higher-quality Korean vegetables, imported ingredients and a calmer retail environment. There is a more polished atmosphere here that feels closer to an upscale neighbourhood supermarket than a snack-focused Korean mart.
It is particularly popular among office workers around Tanjong Pagar and Korean expatriates.
7. The Butcher’s Dining
The Butcher’s Dining sits somewhere between a butcher shop, gourmet grocery store and Korean restaurant.
For serious Korean barbecue fans, this is one of the better places in Singapore to shop for premium meats and harder-to-find Korean products. The selection of marinated meats, specialty cuts and gourmet pantry items is notably stronger than what most general Korean supermarkets carry.
The store also attracts customers searching for more artisanal Korean products and alcohol selections beyond mainstream supermarket brands.
8. Seoul Butchery
Seoul Butchery focuses heavily on Korean barbecue meats and frozen products rather than broad supermarket-style grocery shopping.
It is especially useful for people hosting Korean barbecue dinners at home because the selection tends to prioritise marinated meats, sliced cuts and grilling ingredients. While smaller in scope compared to full supermarkets, the meat quality and focused selection are what keep customers returning.
9. Jang Bom
Jang Bom caters more toward traditional Korean home cooking rather than trend-driven snack shopping.
The store is particularly useful for shoppers making dishes like kimchi jjigae, doenjang stew or homemade banchan from scratch. Instead of flashy packaging and novelty products, the focus here is on pantry staples and cooking ingredients.
For serious Korean cooking enthusiasts, this kind of store can feel much more practical than larger snack-heavy marts.
10. Babchingu
Babchingu feels younger, trendier and much more social-media-oriented compared to traditional Korean grocery stores.
The store is known for stocking viral Korean snacks, convenience foods and dessert products that frequently trend online. This is the sort of place where shoppers hunt for newly viral ramyeon flavours or Korean snacks seen on TikTok.
Its casual and energetic atmosphere makes it especially popular among students and younger shoppers looking for fun impulse buys rather than serious grocery shopping.
What Can You Buy at a Korean Grocery Store in Singapore?
A good Korean supermarket goes considerably further than instant noodles and packets of seaweed.
For everyday cooking, you can usually find staples such as gochujang, doenjang, gochugaru, sesame oil, Korean soy sauce, soup stocks, dried anchovies, seaweed and Korean rice. Refrigerated sections may contain kimchi, tofu, rice cakes and different kinds of banchan, while freezers are useful for mandu, fish cakes, frozen seafood and convenience foods.
If you are planning Korean barbecue at home, larger stores can also be useful for sliced meats, ssamjang, perilla leaves and other accompaniments that would otherwise require stops at several supermarkets.
Then there is the snack section, which can easily become a shopping trip of its own. Ramyeon, Pepero, Choco Pie, chips, crackers, canned coffee, flavoured milk and Korean drinks are widely available, although the exact brands and flavours change regularly as new products are imported.
Korean Grocery Store or Regular Supermarket: Which Is Better?
For basic Korean ingredients, you may not need a specialist shop at all.
Major supermarkets in Singapore now commonly stock popular products such as Shin Ramyun, gochujang, Korean seaweed, kimchi and frozen mandu. If you only occasionally make Korean food, buying these alongside your normal groceries is usually more convenient.
Dedicated Korean supermarkets become more useful once you start looking for choice.
Instead of finding one gochujang, for example, you may have several brands and sizes to choose from. The same applies to ramyeon, kimchi, rice cakes, sauces and frozen foods. Specialist shops can also carry Korean vegetables, banchan and products intended primarily for Korean consumers rather than the international versions selected for mainstream supermarket shelves.
That distinction matters most if you cook Korean food regularly.
Which Korean Grocery Store Should You Choose?
If you simply want a large Korean grocery selection, Shine Korea Supermarket is one of the easiest places to start. It has multiple locations around Singapore, making it considerably more accessible than relying on a single speciality shop.
For shoppers who want the feel of a more traditional Korean supermarket, 고려마트 TP점 Koryo Mart Tanjong Pagar is particularly well positioned. Tanjong Pagar’s concentration of Korean restaurants and businesses also makes it a convenient area for a broader Korean food run.
Sol Mart – Square 2 is another useful all-rounder, particularly if your shopping list extends beyond snacks into ingredients, refrigerated products and frozen foods.
If convenience matters more, Lee Mart at Orchardgateway and K-Market at 313 Orchard are useful central options that can be incorporated into an Orchard Road shopping trip.
What Should First-Time Shoppers Buy?
If you have never visited a dedicated Korean supermarket before, resist the temptation to fill your basket entirely with snacks. The pantry aisles are where these shops become genuinely useful.
A tub of gochujang, doenjang, gochugaru, toasted sesame oil and Korean soy sauce gives you the foundation for a surprising number of dishes. Add Korean rice cakes, fish cakes and soup stock and you already have the beginnings of tteokbokki or a simple Korean stew.
The refrigerated section is worth checking before you leave. Fresh kimchi and banchan are among the products where shopping at a Korean-focused grocer can make a more noticeable difference than buying the most widely distributed supermarket option.
Then you can head back to the ramyeon aisle.
Are Korean Groceries Expensive in Singapore?
Imported Korean groceries can cost more in Singapore than they do in South Korea, particularly refrigerated products, fresh produce and less commonly imported brands. Prices can also vary significantly between retailers.
For common products such as instant noodles, seaweed, sauces and snacks, it is worth comparing prices with mainstream supermarkets, especially when they are running Korean food promotions.
Specialist grocery stores make more sense when selection matters more than getting the absolute lowest price. They can save you from visiting several shops looking for one specific ingredient, and larger Korean supermarkets often carry multiple sizes of frequently used pantry products.
If you cook Korean food regularly, buying larger containers of staples such as gochujang, doenjang or sesame oil can also work out better than repeatedly purchasing smaller packs.
FAQ: Korean Grocery Stores in Singapore
What is the best Korean grocery store in Singapore?
There isn’t one Korean grocery store that is best for every shopper. Shine Korea is a useful all-round choice with several locations, while Koryo Mart is particularly useful for shoppers looking for a broad range of Korean products. Sol Mart, Lee Mart and K-Market are other convenient options depending on where you live or work.
Where can I buy Korean groceries in Singapore?
Dedicated Korean grocery chains can be found across Singapore, including in areas such as Tanjong Pagar, Orchard Road, Bukit Timah, Novena, Bugis and the heartlands. Mainstream supermarkets also carry basic Korean ingredients, but specialist stores generally offer a much wider selection.
Where can I buy Korean groceries in Tanjong Pagar?
Koryo Mart has a store at 32 Tanjong Pagar Road. The neighbourhood is particularly convenient for Korean food shopping because of its concentration of Korean restaurants and businesses.
Where can I buy Korean groceries around Orchard Road?
There are several convenient options around Orchard. Lee Mart has an Orchardgateway location, while K-Market is located at 313@somerset. Sol Mart also has a store at The Centrepoint.
Where can I buy Korean kimchi in Singapore?
Korean supermarkets such as Shine Korea, Koryo Mart and Sol Mart commonly stock kimchi alongside other refrigerated Korean products. The brands, varieties and pack sizes available can change, so a specialist grocer is particularly useful if you are looking for something beyond the most common supermarket brands.
Where can I buy Korean ingredients for cooking in Singapore?
Dedicated Korean grocery stores are usually the easiest places to find ingredients such as gochujang, doenjang, gochugaru, Korean rice cakes, fish cakes, soup stocks, dried anchovies, sesame oil and Korean noodles in one trip.
Do Korean supermarkets in Singapore sell fresh banchan?
Some Korean grocery stores carry refrigerated banchan and ready-to-eat foods, although the selection differs between outlets and can change from day to day. If banchan is the main reason for your visit, it is worth checking with the individual store before making a special trip.
Can I buy Korean groceries online in Singapore?
Yes. A number of Korean grocers and general grocery platforms offer Korean products online. Shopping in-store is still useful when you want to browse unfamiliar brands, compare products or inspect refrigerated and frozen items before buying.
Final Verdict
There is no need to nominate one Korean supermarket as the winner for every shopping trip.
For a broad selection and multiple locations, Shine Korea is an easy place to begin. Koryo Mart is particularly useful when you want a more extensive Korean grocery run, while Sol Mart is another dependable option for pantry, refrigerated and frozen products. Lee Mart and K-Market make more sense when convenience and central locations are priorities.
The biggest advantage these stores have over an ordinary supermarket isn’t necessarily price. It is choice. When you need a particular type of gochugaru, want to compare several kimchi brands or are trying to recreate a dish you ate in Seoul, having an entire supermarket aisle devoted to Korean ingredients makes a considerable difference.
