We heart Korean Melon Pops!

I don't remember how exactly we came to know about Korean melon pops, although I have a feeling the answer is on this board somewhere. Last summer, G Wiv suddenly had a stash of them, I tried one, a week or two later was the Korean street fest, we had them then (the one seen above, alas, hit the pavement moments after this picture was taken), they seemed a perfect summertime treat, then we kind of forgot about them. I saw them at HMart on my eel-scouting expedition, and purchased one brand mainly because it came in an absurdly overengineered and wasteful freezer-pack bag, which, as it happened, were exactly the ones we'd had at the summerfest (I can tell by the little smiley face guy on the wrapper in the picture).



They're the ones on the right; there's no English on the package except some nutritional labeling and the URL "www.bing.co.kr" (which doesn't seem to work anyway), so I'm just calling them Bing Pops, until someone comes up with a better translation. The second time I went to HMart-- the trip to actually acquire an eel, which I believed would be given to me dead-- I went to get some more Bing Pops, but they were out, and so I bought the brand on the left, Choripdong. The resulting comparison cried out for more than a mere post, it seemed to me. The resulting comparison cries out for...

The LTHForum Korean Melon Pop Index
9-10: Delightful!
7-8: Charming!
5-6: Enjoyable.
3-4: Tolerable.
0-2: Icky.

Case Number: MG-KMP001
Date consumed: Week of 1/22/07
Location Acquired: HMart
Brand Name: Unknown, dubbed "Bing Pops"
Packaging (0-2 pts.): 1.7
Foil freezer pack with weird Michelin Man-like cartoon mascot on it; individually wrapped in brightly colored, distinctively Asian packaging (see here).
Texture (0-3 pts.): 2.7
Creamy, soft, square with slightly Art Deco flared edges (reminiscent of Goodhue's Nebraska State Capitol; possibly caused by melting on drive home), similar to American popsicles; no sticky residue in wrapper.
Flavor: (0-5 pts.): 4.3
Real-tasting (whether it actually is real or not), brightly fruity, creamy, delightfully refreshing.
FINAL SCORE: 8.7/10

Case Number: MG-KMP002
Date consumed: 2/2/07
Location Acquired: HMart
Brand Name: Choripdong Melon Shaver Ice Bar
Packaging (0-2 pts.): 1.6
Foil freezer pack with duller, foodservice-y looking label, but handsomely Asian-minimalist matte-finish individual wrapper redeems it.
Texture (0-3 pts.): 1.8
Extremely smooth, cylindrical popsicle is sort of like putting a plastic toilet roll holder to your mouth. Pop itself is a little more watery/icy in texture than the Bing Pop.
Flavor: (0-5 pts.): 3.0
Icier, less creamy, more cloying, less satisfying and refreshing.
FINAL SCORE: 6.4/10

On the right side of the photo (on the upper box in the green panel), the hangul spells out "meh-lo-na" (koreanization of "melon"). On the left side (other box), the hangul spells out "yehn nal ah-ee-seu-ba" ("old time" or "from old days" "ice bar"). Below that, I can't quite make out the smaller lettering, but then it says "Melon flavor".

-gtgirl

Thanks, though it doesn't quite sound like any of that is a unique brand name as opposed to a descriptor.

I can't *quite* make out the letters, but it does look like the name in the left corner is "Bing geu ryeh" (last syllable is rather difficult to transliterate). I'd stick with calling 'em "bing pops"

-gtgirl

Not that you need feel compelled to do this, but just in case you want to, here's another picture of the package...



...and if you click here you should be able to see it much bigger:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/3775 ... 0fb2_b.jpg

The name is definitely Bing-geu-ryeh. It's considered ice milk, rather than an ice bar. And the smiling guy wants you to remember not to let it melt while you're shopping!

-gtgirl

Well, it was definitely creamier, as I said, though I didn't know if that was because of actual dairy or some other ingredient. Thanks!