[Korean Food] Lunch Box of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special GS25

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Hello. Today’s new GS25 lunchbox menu I’m introducing is the “Lunchbox of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special.” Since launching the Lunchbox of the Month series in 2026, they released a value-for-money edition in January. I had a feeling this might happen, and sure enough, for February they put out a light holiday-themed lunchbox. This one seems like a slightly tweaked version of the 9-compartment lunchbox GS25 has been releasing every holiday season. The lineup is pretty solid. Let’s take a look at what’s inside.

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Lunchbox of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special price and features

When the Lunchbox of the Month series first launched, I wondered if the menu would change every month. January was the value-for-money theme, and in February I thought, “With the holiday in there, are they going to do a holiday edition?” and my guess was right. That said, this isn’t a completely new lineup; it’s more like a variation of the 9-compartment holiday lunchbox GS25 has been putting out since around 2024. The price is 6,800 won.

Features of premium convenience store lunchboxes

NongHyup Card discount promotion details

This menu’s total weight is 555g, with 1,041 kcal, and sodium at about 114% of the recommended daily intake. Given the lineup, it’s fairly hefty and the calories are on the high side. I remember feeling quite full when I tried the previous holiday lunchbox, so this one should be more than enough for a satisfying meal.

Delicious Jeonju-style vegetable bibimbap

Lunchbox of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special components

Let’s quickly check what’s included. This menu has 9 compartments, and if you count the jeon (Korean savory pancakes) plus a few small side dishes, it comes to 13 items in total. But since there are three kinds of rice, it’s more accurate to call it 3 rices and 10 sides. Haha.

Tasty sweet potato shred pancake with kimchi

They’ve had tteokgalbi like this before, but this time it seems noticeably thicker. Even compared to the previous photos, it feels slightly larger. It’s not a huge difference, but with items like this, thickness can subtly affect the texture.

Pretty visuals of colorful skewered jeon

Starting from the top row, there’s grilled sanjeok, black rice, and four kinds of jeon (colorful jeon, vegetable jeon, kimchi jeon, and donggeurangttaeng). The middle section has mochi rice cake, tteokgalbi, and japchae. Holiday staples like assorted jeon, tteokgalbi, and japchae are included in a pretty similar way as usual. The mochi rice cake that was added starting in 2025 is also still here.

Sweet and savory honey-garlic dakgangjeong

The bottom section includes gondre rice, dumplings and dakgangjeong, and kimchi fried rice. The gondre rice and kimchi fried rice have been part of the lineup for a while. The dumplings seem to have shifted to more of a “gangjeong” style. The dakgangjeong comes and goes depending on the release.

Features of light seasoned fried dumplings

Nutty soybean powder glutinous rice cake dessert

But looking at this dumpling gangjeong, they didn’t use the usual dumplings. They used heart-shaped dumplings, which is unexpectedly fun. I’ve never seen this shape sold as a ready-made product before, so it’s pretty interesting.

Lunchbox of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special taste

Now let’s taste it. With a menu like this, it would make sense to try each item one by one, but since I’ve reviewed a similar lineup several times already, I’ll keep it short and simply describe what each side is like.

First, the tteokgalbi is definitely thicker. Compared to before, the center feels especially more rounded. It’s hard to cut with chopsticks, but if you have a plastic spoon, it should slice easily. When you take a bite, it has a decent amount of juiciness and a clear meaty flavor. It tastes quite good.

Lunchbox of the Month limited-sale strategy

The grilled sanjeok still uses fairly thick pieces of meat. It’s not just bulgogi, so it has a satisfying chew. I wish there were a bit more, but in a multi-side lunchbox like this, that’s asking a lot. I’d love to see them release a proper sanjeok set meal someday.

The japchae feels a bit simpler than in past years, though that could just be the particular lunchbox I picked. It seems a little less sesame-oily, and the soy sauce flavor comes through more strongly. I also noticed they’ve released an assorted jeon & japchae lunchbox recently, so I’m curious how that one is.

The rest of the sides feel similar overall. Processed items like dakgangjeong and assorted jeon are things we see and eat often in convenience-store lunchboxes, so they don’t stray far from what you’d expect. And since GS25 has been pushing this lineup so hard and releasing it every holiday, it doesn’t feel as fresh as it did when it first came out.

Benefits of convenience-store holiday foods

Among this menu’s items, the heart-shaped dumplings were the most novel. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen them in a convenience-store lunchbox or as a retail product. That said, the filling is the same as a typical meat dumpling, so the flavor itself is identical.

Features of the February limited-edition lunchbox

The other rice options are easy and pleasant to eat. The gondre rice is lightly seasoned, so you don’t need to add anything. Each portion of rice looks small, but once you finish the black rice, kimchi fried rice, and gondre rice, it adds up to a pretty decent amount.

I ate everything else first and saved the mochi rice cake for last. It has a standard sweet red bean filling, but for something included in a convenience-store lunchbox, the quality is quite good. If you’re full, you can keep it in the fridge and enjoy it as a snack within a day or two.

Personally, GS25’s holiday lunchbox series feels like it has settled into a stable spot. For 6,800 won, the lineup is good value, and I recommend it to anyone who wants a holiday vibe or wants to enjoy a variety of sides all at once. I’m looking forward to seeing what concept they go with in March.

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Lunchbox of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special price and features

Lunchbox of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special components

Lunchbox of the Month: February Lunar New Year Special taste

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