From bingsu to sashimi popularity of cup foods going strong in South Korea

SEOUL - With the seasons changing, a new “bingsu in a cup” trend is gaining popularity among young Koreans gearing up to survive the infamously humid and hot summer.

Offered mostly by low-priced coffee joints like Mega Coffee, Compose Coffee and Ediya Coffee, the novelty dish packs all the regular features of the snack in a plastic cup usually used for drinks: frozen milk or cream, sweetened red beans, bite-sized rice cakes, syrup of your choosing, and of course, the chunk of shaved ice that makes it one of the most popular summertime snacks here.

Cup bingsu is just the latest in a long line of popular snacks and meals to be packaged in a cup.

What may sound like a “Wall-E”-type dystopian nightmare on paper is actually quite an enjoyable and affordable form of food in South Korea, expanding its scope from the time-proven cup noodles to cup bap (rice),cup tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and apparently just about anything within the palm of your hands.

Low-price and accessibility

Bingsu is rarely considered a dish for one because of its price and size. Sulbing, one of the most popular local bingju joints, offers its most basic Injeolmi Bingsu (bingsu with bean powder-coated rice cake) at 9,900 won (S$9.20). Served in a large bowl, it is an optimal snack to share with a friend.

But the price tag for cup bingsu is usually in the 4,000-won range, rarely going above 6,300 won. This makes it an ideal snack to enjoy by yourself.

The affordability of a dish for one has been the main appeal of cup foods here since the grandfather of modern-day cup meals, cup ramen, was first introduced in Japan. Momofuku Ando, a Taiwanese-Japanese man who made and lost his fortune in World War II, famously invented instant