At the corner of a bustling street in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, there’s a convenience store with the usual offerings: magazines, toilet paper, an overly generous selection of beverages. But next to the cashier counter stands a tall vending machine that sells a much more unexpected product — gold.
The machine at GS Retail’s convenience store sells gold bars from as big as 37.5 grams to as small as less than 1 gram. Prices change daily, reflecting wider market movements, but start at about 88,000 won ($64) for a 0.5-gram bar.
The machines operate in 30 stores in the company’s retail franchise across the country, six times more than the service started with in 2022.
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