South Korean convenience store brand CU has opened its first US branch in downtown Honolulu, becoming the first Korean convenience store chain to enter the American market.
The store, CU Downtown, opened on 12 November and is positioned as a hub for Korean snacks, K-beauty products and ready-to-eat meals aimed at office workers, tourists and local residents.
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First Korean convenience store brand enters US market
BGF Retail, the South Korean operator behind CU, confirmed that the Honolulu location is its first store in the United States and the first outlet run by a Korean convenience store chain in the country.
The launch expands CU’s overseas footprint, which already includes Mongolia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, and follows several years of groundwork in preparation for an American rollout.
Located near Bishop and Hotel Streets in Honolulu’s central business district, the 231-square-metre (about 2,490-square-foot) store sits on the larger end of typical urban convenience formats, serving an area with heavy foot traffic from office workers, hotel guests and local shoppers.
BGF Retail established a Hawaiian subsidiary earlier this year and signed a master franchise agreement with local operator WKF. Under the model—similar to CU’s overseas partnerships—WKF runs day-to-day operations while BGF Retail provides brand management, product development and market guidance.
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By GlobalDataAt the opening ceremony, BGF Retail Vice Chairman Hong Jung-kook described the United States as “the birthplace of the modern convenience store” and called CU’s entry into Hawaii a significant milestone for the company.
He said the launch supports CU’s broader ambition to introduce Korean convenience store culture and Korean food to global consumers.
Korean snacks, K-beauty and local design at CU Hawaii
Inside the store, CU highlights its Korean identity through its product selection.
Shelves are stocked with Korean instant foods such as ramyeon, gim bugak (crispy seaweed snacks), instant rice and dosirak (boxed meals). Popular Korean bakery items—including Yonsei Dairy cream buns and knotted-style doughnuts—are available alongside fruit-flavoured highball drinks and CU’s private-brand line, PBICK.
A dedicated “Han River Ramyeon” corner allows customers to choose instant noodles from a display wall, cook them using in-store equipment and eat them on site—an experience widely associated with Korean convenience stores.
The store also includes a K-beauty section with more than 40 Korean cosmetics, from sheet masks and sunscreens to lip tints. The placement next to food aisles encourages browsing across beauty and grocery categories.
Design features link the store to its Hawaiian setting. BGF Retail collaborated with renowned Hawai‘i artist Sig Zane, incorporating his patterns into interior details and staff uniforms. The result blends CU’s purple-and-green colour scheme with Hawaiian motifs while maintaining the layout of a modern convenience store.
During the grand opening, CU reported long queues outside the store. Local media footage showed a steady stream of customers sampling Korean drinks, exploring the ramyeon area and browsing K-beauty shelves—indicating strong initial interest in the new retail format.
Korean convenience store chains accelerate overseas expansion
CU’s launch in Hawaii comes as Korean convenience store chains push harder into overseas markets amid slowing domestic growth and rising global demand for Korean culture, food and beauty products.
BGF Retail plans to open about 50 CU Hawaii stores over the next three years, using the Honolulu branch as its flagship.
CU already operates several hundred stores abroad, using Korean-style convenience formats to promote Korean snacks, drinks and prepared meals. The company has repeatedly described its overseas stores as showcases for Korean food and lifestyle products.
Rival chains are adopting similar strategies. GS25 operates hundreds of stores in Vietnam and Mongolia, while Emart24 has expanded into Malaysia, Cambodia and India. All are targeting markets with growing appetite for quick-service food and imported Korean goods, positioning Korean convenience stores as accessible entry points into Korean pop culture.
CU’s arrival adds a new competitor to Hawaii’s already active convenience store market, which is dominated by US and Japanese brands.
For South Korea’s retail industry, notes a Korean news report, the launch represents a symbolic milestone: a Korean convenience store chain is now operating in the country where the modern convenience store concept was born—using CU Hawaii as its latest test case for exporting K-style retail worldwide.
