Americans have Oreo cookies, Koreans have their chocopie!
For those unfamiliar with this treat, it’s similar to American moon pies, in that it consists of two layers of chocolate-dipped cookies with a marshmallow filling in between. It’s spongy and a joy to bite into. First made by the South Korean company Orion Confectionery in Seoul in 1974 for American GI’s, this cake-like treat been a hit with the locals ever since. Choco pies are now produced by other companies like Lotte and Haitai. It is estimated that 12 billion have been sold in the past 25 years.
How to translate chocolate-covered marshmallow cookie sandwich into Korean? In hangeul, chocopie is 초코파이 (choko-pa-yee), a transliteration of the English. Choco pies are arguably the number-one snack in South Korea. And they’re now exported to China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Russia, the United States… Everywhere! The top consumers are kids between the ages of five and ten, but even adults enjoy eating choco-pies. Head to any Korean supermarket and try one — they usually are sold in boxes of at least fourindividual packets. No chance of missing them. Just ask for chocopie!
