Photo by IRa Kang on Unsplash On a Saturday afternoon, Gunam-ro in Haeundae is bustling with visitors making their way from Haeundae Station toward the beach. Amid the crowds and conversations in languages from around the world, one store draws a steady stream of travelers. Some pause at the tasting counter, suitcases beside them, while others sample a Korean snack before heading straight to the shelves to pick up a few bags. This is DELIGHT PROJECT Haeundae, the first standalone store from OLIVE YOUNG’s healthy snack brand, DELIGHT PROJECT. Since opening in April 2025, it has become a popular stop for visitors on their way to the beach, and a destination for discovering Korean snacks with a distinctly local touch. Among the shelves are reinterpretations of Busan specialties, including Seed Hotteok Dalgona, inspired by the city’s beloved seed-filled hotteok. A familiar local flavor has been transformed into a snack that travelers can easily take home, carrying a taste of Busan far beyond the city. A taste of Busan, on the shelf Among the bestsellers are products that reinterpret flavors and specialties unique to Busan. One example is Seed Hotteok Dalgona, which combines the familiar flavors of Busan’s iconic seed-filled hotteok with the nostalgic sweetness of Korean dalgona. The idea is simple: take something deeply local, give it a new form, and make it easy to carry beyond the city. These locally inspired products have become some of the store’s signature offerings. Exclusive items such as Seed Hotteok Dalgona and the Haeundae Palmier Gift Collection are increasingly finding their way into travelers’ shopping bags and suitcases as souvenirs of their time in Busan. A single bag of snacks can become a small reminder of a city long after the trip is over. Store employees see that transformation firsthand every day. Haeundae Market, which is known for Busan’s traditional street foods including seed hotteok, is located directly across from our store. Many Korean and international visitors come to us after experiencing the local street food, and we often see their interest immediately turn to Seed Hotteok Dalgona.” One interaction, in particular, has stayed with the team. Another moment when we feel we’re helping introduce the character of the area is when nearby hotels purchase our products in large quantities to offer to their guests. In a way, DELIGHT PROJECT becomes part of a visitor’s first impression of Busan. The response has been positive enough that some of these purchases have developed into regular partnerships.” For the team, moments like this offer a tangible way to see how a local flavor can travel. The store also becomes part of the experience for visitors who may never have tasted Busan’s signature foods before arriving. When one store brings energy to the neighborhood A large share of the customers entering DELIGHT PROJECT Haeundae are international travelers. Their journey through the neighborhood is almost intuitive: walk down Gunam-ro toward the beach, stop in for a snack, sample a few Korean products, pick up some favorites, and continue on toward the sea. The effect extends beyond the store itself. A successful destination can create a ripple effect throughout the neighborhood, and the foot traffic drawn to DELIGHT PROJECT Haeundae naturally flows into the restaurants, cafés and side streets surrounding Gunam-ro. In the heart of Haeundae’s tourism district, the store has become a small but meaningful stop along the visitor journey, encouraging travelers to linger, explore and experience more of the neighborhood. For employees, it has become part of the everyday scenery. So many customers stop by before heading to the beach or back to their hotels to pick up a light snack or drink. After shopping, we often see them walking naturally toward the restaurants along Gunam-ro or the beach, carrying our shopping bags. It’s rewarding to feel that our store has become a positive starting point for a day in Haeundae and a source of energy for the neighborhood.” Different languages, but the same love of a good snack There is one feature that may be more important than any product description at DELIGHT PROJECT Haeundae: the chance to taste before buying. At the store’s always-on tasting bar, visitors can sample everything from bagel chips and yakgwa to bugak, a traditional Korean snack made by coating ingredients such as vegetables or grains and frying them until crisp. For many international visitors, it is an easy introduction to unfamiliar Korean flavors, and a reason to put something new in the basket. DELIGHT PROJECT has a strong image around snacks that are both healthy and delicious, so letting customers try them for themselves can be more effective than explaining the products in words. Our store carries many snacks that visitors may not typically encounter, and traditional Korean snacks can be unfamiliar to international customers. The tasting bar plays an important role in lowering that barrier to trying something new.” The experience turns curiosity into confidence: one bite, followed by a purchase. From one bite of seed hotteok to the world DELIGHT PROJECT Haeundae has found its place in Busan by giving local flavors a new form, and creating a new stop along the visitor journey. A taste of Seed Hotteok Dalgona at the tasting counter can become a souvenir in a traveler’s suitcase, carrying a small piece of Busan across borders. In that sense, the story goes beyond one snack. A local flavor is becoming a new kind of K-snack, one that can be discovered in Busan and remembered around the world. As the store team puts it: The journey begins the moment you arrive in Haeundae and head toward the sea. We hope our store becomes a place where visitors want to pause along the way, a place to discover something new and enjoyable that they can experience only in Busan. We want to create experiences that travelers will remember long after their trip, while giving people another reason to visit and explore the neighborhood. Above all, we hope to be a reliable neighbor and part of what makes Haeundae special.”