LogFAQs > #905079804

Since TC is apparently curious now, I'll mention a few.

There are global brands like Coke and Pepsi selling many of their typical products. The recipes for colas vary a bit from the what is sold in the U.S., but is common around the country. In my opinion, Coke and Pepsi taste a big sweeter in Korea and Coke feels less carbonated. I haven't seen any documentation to back that up, just my perception of how it tastes and feels.There are local companies selling cola as well.

Some of the American and other overseas brands are bottled and marketed in Korea by local companies, including Pepsi and Mountain Dew and so you see them sold in machines alongside local brands.

One of the most common and popular types of soda is what is routinely called "cider" () in Korean. It's a lemon-lime type soda usually, but the flavor varies by brand. Chilsung () cider tastes most similar to 7Up while Cheonyeon () cider tastes sweeter and more candy-like and is very similar in flavor to the Japanese soda ramune ().

You also have things like Milkis () and other similar brands of the same type. It's a soda that contains milk and is creamy and comes in "classic" flavor as well as a variety of fruit flavors.

There is one soda I don't particularly like, called McCol (). The English name seems like just some personal-style name, but it's a rendering of the Korean, which is a combination of Sino-Korean character for barely and the first syllable of cola. It's basically a barely cola and to me it tastes like someone mixed cheap non-alcoholic beer with cola. I don't recommend it personally, but if you are curious, give it a try.

Something you usually don't find in Korea (except in areas with high foreign residency) is root beer. Root beer is something that hasn't caught on much there for some reason. Many Koreans who taste it for the first time comment that it tastes somewhat medicinal and reminiscent of toothpaste, though I've personally known Koreans who grew up in Korea and had that reaction to root beer at first but later grew accustomed to the flavor.
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