Hawaii
PHOTOS: Take a look inside Honolulu’s new Korean CU store
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The hum of downtown Honolulu will soon get a taste of Seoul.
CU, one of South Korea’s largest convenience store chains, is opening its first United States location in Hawaiʻi to mark a new era for local shoppers and food lovers alike.
The store at 1088 Bishop Street, inside the Executive Centre, will open next week, with its grand opening and blessing ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12 at noon.
“Downtown Honolulu is the perfect place for us to open our first CU Hawaii,” said Robert
Kurisu, CEO of CU Hawaii LLC. “The store will offer fresh grab-and-go food, customizable
beverages, a wide range of popular instant ramen, and many other unique Korean and
local products for people working, living and visiting downtown.”
A new kind of convenience
Gina Haverly, president of CU Hawaiʻi, called the Nov. 6 soft launch “a special day for some of our special vendors and friends and family.”
For Haverly, this opening marks a moment of pride and progress. It’s not only about a new store but about making history in the islands.
“We’re gearing up to open our first CU store, not just in Hawaiʻi, but in the United States,” Haverly said.
CU’s reach in Asia is staggering, with more than 18,000 stores in South Korea and 680 more in Mongolia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan. The Honolulu store will be the first step in expanding across Oʻahu and beyond.
After years of planning, CU Hawaiʻi’s debut in downtown Honolulu is only the beginning. Haverly said the company’s vision reaches far beyond Bishop Street.
“We are looking to open so many stores starting on the island of Oʻahu, potentially throughout the while,” she said.
Authentic flavors meet local taste
Haverly explained that CU’s food program aims to stay true to its Korean roots while still honoring Hawaiʻi’s diverse tastes. She said the store’s mission is to deliver real Korean flavors to the islands without compromise.
“We haven’t adjusted the recipes to the local palate,” she said. “What we’ve done instead for our local palate is we created a line called Ho‘ina.”
The Ho‘ina line, developed with local celebrity chef Sheldon Simeon, will feature dishes tailored for Hawaiʻi.
“He’s helped us create our local recipes,” Haverly said. “So, CU Korea authentic recipes for you to line up, me for the local palate.”
Alongside that menu will be CU’s signature Korean foods like gimbap, musubi, and bento, along with ramen and udon cooking stations where customers can heat and eat on site.
“We also have cookers in our store so you can cook your ramen and your tapioca and all of that here,” she said.
Community and opportunity
Haverly said the new Honolulu store is already creating local jobs, with about 20 employees hired and more positions to fill as CU expands across Oʻahu.
“We’re interviewing and hiring for store managers, assistant store managers, leads and sales,” she said. “So come see us. We have awesome benefits, too.”
To mark the grand opening, CU plans to thank its first customers with a little extra excitement and appreciation.
“On our grand opening day, we have these awesome swag bags that we’re giving out to the first 100 purchasers,” Haverly said.
As Hawaiʻi becomes CU’s fourth overseas market, the convenience store giant is bringing with it a modern design, Korean national brands and private-label items, along with local partnerships that celebrate the islands’ mix of flavors and people.
Haverly described the launch as a moment shaped by collaboration and gratitude as she reflected on the many hands that helped make CU Hawaiʻi a reality.
“We have our special vendors, partners who really helped us bring this together,” she said. “And we have obviously really great friends in the media coming to visit us today.”
The CU Hawaiʻi story begins in Honolulu next week, but for Haverly, the work of blending Korean innovation with Hawaiʻi spirit has only just begun.
Kurisu said CU Hawaiʻi’s menu reflects both the global appeal of Korean cuisine and the company’s commitment to authenticity.
“We know that Korean culture, trends and food are very popular,” he said. “We worked diligently to ensure we are offering the same great CU Korean fresh food and snacks with authentic Korean flavors.”
He added that the company also aims to celebrate Hawaiʻi’s local identity while introducing new flavors from across Asia.
“We also wanted to honor what is unique about our local culture and palates, which can be found in our own Ho‘ina brand foods,” Kurisu said. “And as we expand, we want to ensure that we are delighting our customers with unique local and Asia-inspired treats, foods and snacks, along with new items and recipes that will be added frequently.”
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| East Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Occasional showers. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||
| Winds | North winds 5 to 10 mph. | ||||
|
|||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Scattered showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | Around 80. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
|
||||||
| Sunrise | 5:52 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:43 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy until 12 AM, then partly cloudy. Scattered showers. |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||||
| Winds | East winds around 5 mph. | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Weather | Mostly sunny. Isolated showers. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the lower 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | South winds around 5 mph. | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Sunrise | 5:56 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:47 PM HST. | ||||||||
Surf along north and west facing shores will remain small tonight before a small bump is possible on Wednesday. An upward trend is then expected during the second half of the week as another northwest swell arrives as early as Wednesday night. This swell originates from a storm-force low that tracked into the Bering Sea this past weekend, as confirmed by scatterometry. Therefore, this swell appears more likely to materialize. Looking further ahead, a storm-force low east of Japan will send a moderate, longer-period northwest swell toward the islands for Friday and Saturday, with surf heights potentially approaching advisory levels along exposed north and west facing shores.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain small through much of the week, with mainly background south to southwest swell expected. Another south-southwest pulse may arrive by this weekend from recent activity within our swell window east of New Zealand, providing a small increase in surf.
Surf along east-facing shores will remain relatively small and choppy through midweek, with a slight rise possible Thursday and Friday as trades strengthen.
NORTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NNW winds 5-10mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting to the WNW.
SOUTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Sideshore texture/chop with NE winds 10-15mph.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (KHON) — A strange glow in the night sky over Hawaiʻi Island is raising eyebrows – and questions – after a Kona resident captured unusual green lights on camera over the weekend.
Jake Asuncion says he was filming sunset near Keahole Point when he unknowingly recorded the phenomenon. It wasn’t until he got home and reviewed the footage that he noticed a faint green glow appear in the sky.
“I got home, I was going to post it, and then towards the end of the video I saw the green come out—I said, what was that?” Asuncion said. He said he enhanced the color to show the movement.
Curious, he returned the following night—and saw it again.
“I wanted to go back the next night and see if I could capture the same thing—and it came out even more the second night,” he said.
He said the glow appeared roughly 15 to 20 minutes after sunset, looking northwest toward Maui. While faint to the naked eye, the green hue was more visible through his phone camera.
The sightings have caught the attention of local astronomers, including Nick Bradley with Stargazers of Hawaiʻi, who says the color resembles aurora, but likely isn’t.
“It looked very interesting. The green color looks like aurora, but honestly, we don’t really get that in Hawaiʻi,” Bradley explained.
Data from the weekend shows no significant geomagnetic storm activity that would produce aurora visible in the islands. The KP index—a measure used to track aurora strength—was only between 3 and 4. By comparison, a rare aurora visible in Hawaiʻi in 2024 required a KP index of 8.
Bradley says other common explanations don’t seem to match what was captured either.
“Satellites look like small pinpoint lights moving across the sky, we see them every night. This doesn’t look like that,” he said.
He also ruled out meteor showers, lasers, and the well-known “green flash” that sometimes occurs at sunset, noting the lights appeared well after the sun had already set and higher in the sky.
The Army said there were no lasers being used or any training in that area.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation said Kona airport used to have a laser bird hazing gun, but it was red and would not come close in scale to what is shown in the photos. Standard airport rotating beacons also would not have the scale as shown in the photos.
Keck Observatories suggest it could be STEVE or ‘strong thermal emissions velocity enhancement,’ which is similar to aurora but seen further south than aurora. But not as much is known about STEVE and it’s typically seen with aurora present.
Astronomers note that smartphone cameras can enhance colors in low-light conditions, meaning the green glow may appear brighter on video than in real life.
Still, the exact cause remains unknown — and experts are asking the public to keep an eye out and capture the moment if they can.
“I would love more eyes on it — more data, the better,” Bradley said.
As for Asuncion, he plans to keep watching the skies.
“I just appreciate the beauty of nature and whatever comes,” he said.
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Tuesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Occasional showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming north after midnight. |
|||||
|
||||||
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | Around 80. | |||||
| Winds | Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. | |||||
|
||||||
| Sunrise | 5:53 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:42 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Tuesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy until 12 AM, then partly cloudy. Scattered showers. |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | Around 70. | ||||||||
| Winds | Northwest winds around 5 mph, becoming east in the evening, then becoming southeast after midnight. |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Weather | Mostly sunny. Scattered showers. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the lower 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Southwest winds around 5 mph. | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Sunrise | 5:57 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:46 PM HST. | ||||||||
Surf along north and west facing shores will remain small through midweek. A small bump in surf is expected with the arrival of a northwest swell on Tuesday. An upward trend is expected during the second half of the week as another northwest swell arrives. This is likely to be followed by a larger northwest swell over the weekend, with surf heights nearing advisory level.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain small through much of the week, with mainly background south to southwest swell expected. Another south-southwest pulse may arrive by this weekend from recent activity within our swell window east of New Zealand, providing a small increase in surf. Surf along east-facing shores will remain relatively small and choppy through midweek, with a slight rise possible later in the week as trades strengthen.
NORTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NNW winds 5-10mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting to the WNW.
SOUTH EAST
am pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Sideshore texture/chop with NE winds 10-15mph.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
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