Haitai vs Orion Snacks: Which Korean Brand Wins?

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

The Convenience Store Snack Rivalry in Seoul

My apartment building in Mapo-gu has a CU on the left and a GS25 on the right, and on rainy Tuesday nights, my late-night snack run always leads me to the exact same aisle showdown: Haitai versus Orion. If you walk into any convenience store or neighborhood supermarket in South Korea, these two heavyweights dominate the shelves. They are the coke and Pepsi of Korean junk food, battling for snack supremacy across every category imaginable, from fluffy chocolate cakes to sweet butter chips and savory crunchy twists.

For international K-food enthusiasts looking to stock their pantry, deciding between haitai vs orion snacks can feel overwhelming. Both brands have decades of history in Korea, both have produced viral global sensations, and both make items that look surprisingly similar at first glance. However, once you open the packaging, their approach to flavor, texture, and recipe design couldn’t be more distinct. Having eaten my way through hundreds of yellow, blue, and red foil wrappers over years of living in Seoul, here is my honest head-to-head review comparing the flagship products from both snack giants.

Round 1: Chocolate Cakes (Orion Choco Pie vs. Haitai Oh Yes!)

The chocolate cake category is sacred ground in Korean snacking culture. This is where the bitter corporate rivalry began, and every Korean child grows up taking a firm stance on which boxed cake deserves a spot in their school backpack.

Orion Choco Pie Original

The undisputed king of Korean retro snacks, Orion Choco Pie features two round biscuits filled with a spongy marshmallow center, completely enrobed in a thin layer of compound chocolate. Opening a pack releases a distinct dark cocoa scent mixed with vanilla. When you bite into it, you get a firm outer crumble followed by the signature stretch of the marshmallow center.

It isn’t overly sweet by Western bakery standards, which is precisely why Koreans love it. The cake base leans slightly dry on its own, but the marshmallow compensates with a chewy moisture. A classic local tip: microwave an Orion Choco Pie for 10 to 12 seconds. The marshmallow puffs up into a gooey cream, making the cake crumb softer and far more decadent. You can grab a box of 12 for around 3,800 to 4,500 won depending on supermarket sales.

Haitai Oh Yes!

Haitai’s response to the Choco Pie is the square-shaped Oh Yes! cake. Instead of using a marshmallow center, Haitai fills two moist chocolate sponge layers with a rich chocolate cream fudge before coating the entire exterior in chocolate syrup glaze. Because it uses real water content in its sponge cake recipe, Oh Yes! is noticeably softer, lighter, and more moist right out of the wrapper than Orion’s offering.

The cocoa flavor in Oh Yes! is much deeper and more chocolate-forward. The texture melts in your mouth almost immediately without requiring a microwave trick. Koreans often put Oh Yes! boxes directly into the freezer for two hours before eating; the outer chocolate layer turns into a crisp shell while the inside fudge turns into a fudgy ice cream texture. A standard box costs around 4,000 to 4,800 won at local marts.

Round 2: Modern Viral Hits (Orion Turtle Chips vs. Haitai Honey Butter Chip)

In recent years, both brands hit absolute gold by creating viral snacks that sold out nationwide. These two items represent the absolute apex of modern Korean flavor engineering.

Orion Turtle Chips (Kbookchip) – Corn Soup Flavor

Orion turned the chip industry upside down when they engineered a four-layered corn snack shaped like a turtle shell. The structural engineering here is pure genius: four ultra-thin, crispy layers pressed together create an air-pocketed crunch that shatters in your mouth with virtually zero effort. The Corn Soup flavor tastes identical to warm, buttery Korean sweet corn soup from a Western-style diner.

The texture is light, fluffy, and ridiculously addictive. Flavor-wise, it hits a 0/10 on the spice scale, leaning heavily into savory-sweet sweetcorn goodness with a rich butter finish. Koreans frequently munch on these while watching movies at home or pair them with a light lager like Cass or Terra. A standard bag at GS25 runs about 1,700 won.

Haitai Honey Butter Chip

Back in 2014, Haitai created the single biggest snack craze in modern Korean history with Honey Butter Chip. People were chasing delivery trucks across Seoul just to secure a single bag. Made using real French Acacia honey and gourmet butter on thin potato chips, this snack created the sweet-and-savory potato chip trend that still rules Korean supermarket shelves today.

Opening the bag hits you with an intoxicating aroma of melted butter and floral honey. The potato chip itself is thin and crisp, coated in a fine dust of salt, sugar, honey powder, and dried parsley. The flavor starts sweet, transitions into a rich dairy creaminess, and finishes with a salty potato kick. Like Turtle Chips, it has zero spice level, but the sweet butter profile makes it feel slightly heavier. A bag costs around 1,700 to 2,000 won at convenience stores.

Round 3: Savory Crunch & Street-Style Munchies (Orion Sun Chips vs. Haitai Matdongsan)

When you need something with serious crunch to go with a cold drink, both companies offer legendary options rooted in traditional Korean street snacks and grain crunchers.

Orion Sun Chips (Hot & Spicy)

Orion Sun Chips are wave-cut whole grain chips packed with corn, wheat, and oat flour, giving them an earthy, nutty base texture before any seasoning is applied. The Hot & Spicy variation is an absolute staple at Korean university drinking parties. The ridges hold an insane amount of spicy garlic-onion seasoning powder.

Regarding heat, Sun Chips offer a pleasant, mouth-warming zip. They are significantly milder than Shin Ramyun, and barely register compared to Buldak 2x (about a 2/10 spice rating). The crunch is dense, heavy, and satisfying. Koreans love opening the bag flat from the side to share on a table while sipping beer or cheap soju. Expect to pay around 1,700 won per pack.

Haitai Matdongsan

Haitai Matdongsan is one of Korea’s oldest surviving commercial snacks, first debuting in 1975. These are thick, finger-sized fried dough sticks coated in sticky peanut syrup and dusted with crushed roasted peanuts. The dough undergoes a fermentation process before frying, giving it an intensely hard, satisfyingly loud crunch.

The flavor is rich, nutty, and sweet, reminiscent of traditional Korean hangwa sweets or glazed donuts with peanuts. It is heavy and filling—a few sticks go a long way. Koreans traditionally enjoy Matdongsan alongside a warm cup of roasted green tea or barley tea to slice through the sticky syrup sweetness. A standard medium bag costs around 2,500 to 3,000 won.

Head-to-Head Snack Comparison

Snack Category	Orion Contender	Haitai Contender
Chocolate Cake	Choco Pie (Chewy, Marshmallow)	Oh Yes! (Moist, Fudge Cream)
Blockbuster Chip	Turtle Chips (4-Layer Corn)	Honey Butter Chip (Sweet Butter)
Crunchy Beer Snack	Sun Chips (Spicy Whole Grain)	Matdongsan (Sweet Peanut Glaze)

How to Get It Abroad

You don’t need to fly to Seoul to settle the haitai vs orion snacks debate yourself. Most major Korean snack lines are widely exported and easily accessible across North America, Europe, and Australia:

• H Mart & Local Asian Markets: Large Asian grocery chains almost always stock full aisles of both Orion and Haitai products. You can find whole boxes of Choco Pie, Oh Yes!, and multipacks of Turtle Chips in the snack section.
• Amazon: Both Orion and Haitai maintain official storefronts or authorized distributors on Amazon. You can readily purchase Turtle Chips variety packs, Honey Butter Chips, and classic Choco Pies delivered directly to your doorstep. Keep in mind imported prices are generally 30% to 50% higher than retail prices in Seoul convenience stores.

Verdict

When choosing between Haitai and Orion, it ultimately comes down to what you prioritize in a snack: structural innovation versus indulgent flavor coatings.

Orion wins the crunch and texture war. Their engineering on Turtle Chips and Sun Chips is unmatched, creating light, air-filled layers that are impossible to stop eating. However, Haitai wins on rich, comforting flavor profiles—Oh Yes! completely outclasses Choco Pie if you prefer moist chocolate sponge over chewy marshmallow, and Honey Butter Chip remains an iconic sweet-salty masterpiece.

If I could only stock my Seoul pantry with one brand for the rest of the year, Orion takes the crown by a narrow margin simply because of Turtle Chips and Sun Chips’ sheer versatility as late-night beer snacks.

Overall Score: 9/10

FAQ

Is Orion older than Haitai in South Korea?

No, Haitai Confectionery was founded first in 1945, making it one of Korea’s oldest food companies. Orion was established slightly later in 1956 (originally under the name Tongyang Confectionery) before evolving into the global powerhouse it is today.

Are Haitai vs Orion snacks expensive in Korea?

Not at all. Standard individual bags of chips or small boxes of cakes generally range from 1,500 to 3,000 won (roughly $1.10 to $2.20 USD) at Korean convenience stores like GS25, CU, and 7-Eleven. Prices vary slightly depending on current promotions like 1+1 or 2+1 deals.

Why are Turtle Chips and Honey Butter Chips so famous?

Honey Butter Chip kicked off a sweet-and-savory revolution in 2014 by breaking the tradition of salt-only potato chips in Korea. Turtle Chips became famous for their patented four-layer technology, creating a uniquely airy, light crunch that no other brand has successfully replicated.

More Mart Finds

• Best Non Spicy Korean Instant Ramen Options from Seoul
• How to read Korean food labels at K-Mart
• The Best Korean Snacks for Kids: A Parent’s Honest Buying Guide from Seoul
• CJ Bibigo and Ottogi: My take on Korean instant ready meals