Korea Energy Drink Journey 2019

Red Bull x Peaceminusone Collaboration Can

At the end of January, I found out that a collaboration can between Red Bull and Peaceminusone (which glows under black light) was being released, along with a campaign offering exclusive prizes. Since I already had another trip planned, I quickly adjusted my schedule and headed to Seoul, South Korea!

I didn’t know much about Peaceminusone, but it turns out to be a fashion brand produced by G-DRAGON, a member of BIGBANG. I had a feeling these cans would sell out fast, so I made sure to plan my trip accordingly (●´ω｀●).

In the end, this decision turned out to be the right one.

Immediately on the Hunt After Arriving in Korea

It was snowing on and off... Winter in Seoul is definitely cold (´-﹏-`；). After dropping off my luggage at the hotel, I headed out on my hunt! I hadn’t been on a real energy drink hunt for a while, but this trip was shaping up to be just that.

The area had several Korean convenience stores like GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, and Ministop. By the way, CU is the largest convenience store chain in Korea. It was originally FamilyMart but later rebranded due to business disputes. According to Wikipedia, they even said something like, "We don't need Japanese companies anymore," and "Korea’s No.1 convenience store has nothing to learn from Japan’s No.3."

First stop: the CU right below my hotel.

Just a regular lineup of drinks. I asked the store clerk about the Peaceminusone collaboration Red Bull, but not only did they not speak any English, they didn’t even seem to know about its existence.

Same story at the nearby 7-Eleven. It was hard to tell if it had sold out or if they never stocked it in the first place… Since it had been about two weeks since the release, there was no way to know.

Finally Found the Peaceminusone Design Can!!

After visiting a few stores, I finally had a true "hunting" moment.

I spotted the Peaceminusone design cans hidden behind the regular Red Bull cans!

Finding the Peaceminusone design cans like this was such an exciting moment (*´艸｀*). This is the thrill of the hunt—especially when you’ve planned your entire trip around it! The luck involved is part of what makes energy drink hunting so much fun.

Next stop: Ministop.

Found them here too! This time, they were neatly stocked on the shelf. Into my basket they went.

Interestingly, I saw a 6-pack of Red Bull in the store’s backroom (though I couldn’t tell if it was the Peaceminusone edition). When I asked for it, the clerk just waved me off, saying something like, "No, no more Red Bull!"—even though it was clearly there...

In the end, only two stores in this area had the Peaceminusone design can. I visited every convenience store, supermarket, and department store in the vicinity, but this was a tough hunt. Either they sold out within two weeks, or they were never widely stocked. After I grabbed my stash, I’m pretty sure this area was completely wiped out of Peaceminusone cans Σ(´∀｀；).

Local Korean BBQ

For dinner, I went for some Korean BBQ.

Half of this thick-cut meat was fat. Some people might enjoy that, but I can’t eat fatty meat, so my edible portion was effectively cut in half (´・ω・｀).

Also, I completely forgot that I can’t handle spicy food (^_^;).

After filling up a little, I decided to check out another area around 9 PM, hoping to find more stores with energy drinks.

Exploring Another Area by Train

A 15-minute train ride later, I arrived in an extremely local area. As soon as I stepped out of the station, I was shocked to see… nothing. No stores in sight! (^_^;) I walked deeper into the area and finally found a few shops.

At the first GS25, I discovered the Red Bull Winter Edition!

I forgot to take pictures of the store and fridge, so I snapped this on the train ride back (^_^;).

This was a rare find—because it wasn’t from this year! I asked the clerk, "Is this new or old?" but since they didn’t understand English, they just kept saying, "NEW!! NEW!!" Later, I checked the can and saw that it had expired in September 2018, lol.

Interestingly, the Korean Winter Edition was "Plum & Cinnamon," the same flavor as the original Austrian version. It’s completely different from the North American Winter Edition (Plum flavor). Even though the cans were slightly dented, I grabbed all of them (ｕ_ｕ*).

After that, I visited more stores, but there were no more finds—especially no Peaceminusone cans. Considering BIGBANG’s influence, it’s likely they were bought up immediately upon release. Checking Instagram, I saw many people hoarding multiple cans. The supply might have been limited from the start. If you want one now, you’d probably have to search outside Seoul.

Late-Night Wandering

Since I barely sleep when traveling, I decided to explore the city at night. I stopped by the Ministop where I had found the Peaceminusone cans earlier and saw a local girl at the register buying two of them!

I rushed to the fridge and found four more cans—probably from that 6-pack I saw earlier—so I quickly grabbed them. My late-night wandering habit really paid off (*´艸｀*).

No Changes for Monster Energy

I initially planned to only get the Peaceminusone cans, but I had extra space in my suitcase, so I picked up two sets of Monster Energy as well. No new flavors or changes here.

Will there be any new Monster releases in Korea this year?

Found a 330ml HOT6 Can

HOT6 has disappeared from Lotte’s official online shop in Japan, but it’s still alive in Korea. This time, I found a 330ml can for the first time!

The can was a bit dented, but nothing I couldn’t fix, so I grabbed it. This size might disappear in the future. It cost about 160 yen—cheaper than a 250ml Red Bull!

HOT6 also had a bottle version in the past. The one I have at home expired in 2015, so it was probably discontinued around then. Tracking the trends of different brands across countries is really interesting.

I hadn’t been to Korea in over a decade, and I never thought I’d return just for energy drinks. The current political situation between Japan and Korea isn’t great, but I’d still like to explore more of the food and culture. If another cool limited edition comes out, I might be back (●´ω｀●).