Convenience stores are everywhere — but no longer the same

Since their arrival in South Korea in the late 1980s, convenience stores have operated on a simple logic that more locations bring more customers. That premise seems to have run its course, however, as reflected in a decline in store numbers from 54,852 in 2024 to 53,266 last year. Sales growth across the four major chains — CU, GS25, Emart24 and 7-Eleven — has slowed in tandem, falling from 8 percent in 2023 to 3.9 percent in 2024 and just 0.1 percent in 2025. In response, the industry is recko

By The Korea Herald