The answer is yes, and it is a refreshment that is hard to find even in a Seven Eleven or Family Mart. On campus, however, it is the best-selling drink of all canned beverages available at SNU.
An accumulated 12,000 cans are sold per month on average throughout the SNU Co-op convenience stores and the vending machines on campus. This roughly equals the total number of undergraduate students at SNU. These figures show that it sells better than the most popular drink in the world - coke!
The honor of the best-selling canned beverage goes to"Tejava", a type of milk tea. This drink is a 1999 product of Donga-Otsuka made of milk mixed with black tea, and it is known for its delectable fragrance.
Let's take a look at the SNU Co-op convenience store at the Universityl Library. Tejava is allocated a staggering eight rows on the display shelf, unlike three for other canned refreshments such as Pepsi or coffee.
KIM Jisun, the general manager of SNU Co-op convenience stores, explained,"The more popular it becomes and the more it sells, the longer the rows get. In the case of Tejava, about 400 cans sell per day from all of the eleven SNUCO convenience stores of SNU."
After lunch around one thirty in the afternoon, in front of the Central Library, a couple of students have Tejavas in their hands.
PARK Yumi (English Education, senior) attested that she often drinks Tejava."There are a lot of Tejava maniacs at SNU. They insist on Tejava though there are other milk teas or black tea-type drinks on sale."
According to distribution industries of Family Mart, GS25, and Seven Eleven, the most sold canned refreshments are generally in the order of CocaCola Korea's Coca-Cola, Lotte Chilsung's Chilsung Cider (similar to Sprite), and Donga-Otsuka's Pocari-Sweat (thirst-quencher). Tejava is very much unknown compared to these major refreshments - it is not even in the top 100 best-selling canned refreshments in Korea.
It’s a different story at SNU though. According to research by SNU Co-op, Tejava is the most popular canned refreshment in all of the eleven convenience stores as well as the vending machines on campus.
On the other hand, the generally popular drinks such as Coke or Sprite do not sell well at SNU as they normally do elsewhere. Kim Jisun said,"It's almost weird how Coke, Sprite, and Pocari-Sweat do not sell as well at SNU as they normally do. After Tejava became a big hit we also had Haitai Beverage’s Royal Milk Tea brought in but this product did not sell as well as expected either."
On this strange phenomenon, an employee of Donga-Otsuka emphasized that"Tejava holds a staggering 15% of the market share at SNU compared to 1% in retail stores elsewhere."
Speculations on Tejava's popularity
Students were asked what might be so special about Tejava for SNU students.
SHIN Dongwan (Philosophy, senior) speculated it may be because SNU students, especially students preparing for national exams, or gosi, spend long hours at the library."Tejava is the most convenient to drink when studying. This is because carbonated drinks leave a strong taste in your mouth afterwards," says HAN Hyun-Kang (Economics, junior).
LEE Ji-Hyun (Psychology, senior) hypothesized that since take-out coffees are relatively cheaper on campus, the decrease in canned coffee sales might be why Tejava leads the canned beverage sales. She also added,"Coffee actually comes in handy while studying but it gives you heartburn if you drink too much of it. Tejava is the best alternative because it has a similar fragrance."
There were also students who said they drink Tejava when they must skip a meal. KIM Jung-Hoon (Economics, junior) said,"On days I don't have time to eat lunch due to successive classes I drink Tejava instead. It soothes my hunger to an extent. Maybe because it contains milk and is sweet."
The geographical characteristics of SNU's Gwanak campus may also be another reason for Tejava's popularity.
LEE Jinju (Spanish Language and Literature, senior) said,"Because SNU is located at a high altitude and faces north, and because some of the buildings are old and thus not well insulated, a nice warm Tejava might alleviate the cold for others as it does for me."
We can never know for sure the actual reason behind Tejava's mysterious and independent popularity at SNU. First of all, it is rarely found in convenience stores elsewhere, and secondly, there is really no way to explain why students favor Tejava over coffee, or soy milk, or other hot drinks. Neither is the price a determining factor, as it costs the same 800 KRW as the other canned drinks on sale at SNU. Since when SNU students started to drink Tejava is also unknown. If Tejava is so great, why isn't it as popular in other places where they are sold? I don't know but it may just be an SNU thing.
Nevertheless, that SNU students seem to have different taste from other collective groups is one source of interest-especially for prospective students aiming to gain admission. Rumors that it endows the imbiber with brilliance (needed for taking the suneung test (CSAT) are already on the rise.
Written by LEE BoYoung, SNU English Editor, bylee0708@gmail.com
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com