Gangneung snack shop kids love: strawberry sand boxes, Gangneung Sand

A Gangneung dessert snack the kids devoured so fast I have to recommend it even harder: Gangneung Sand. Great as a Gangneung trip gift, great as a Gangneung travel souvenir, and especially great as a snack for kids — here's my Gangneung Sand post.

Where is Gangneung Sand Main Branch, and what are the hours?

Gangneung Sand Main Branch occupies the 1st through 3rd floors at 31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, and is open daily from 9:30 to 19:00 (last order 18:30). It opens fairly early in the morning too, so it's perfect to stop by on the last day of a Gangneung trip to pick some up.

You head up to the 2nd floor, and true to being the main branch, the building is big and spacious, with outdoor seating too! The wrapping is clean and pretty, great for gifting — the box packaging is lovely and each of the 10 Gangneung Sand pieces inside comes individually wrapped, so it's a good set for handing out to coworkers or friends.

The interior has this kind of vibe! The blue-and-white decor gave off a real Santorini, Greece feel. Spacious and clean, so it's also nice to sit and eat here.

Gangneung Sand menu and box prices

Gangneung Sand comes in a variety of flavors, so you can pick based on your taste. The dilemma of which flavor to buy starts right here!!! But... first I grabbed the classic coffee flavor and picked the strawberry flavor the kids love! Since Gangneung means coffee to a lot of people, coffee flavor is probably the best seller.

• Coffee flavor, box of 10 — ₩16,000
• Persimmon, sweet potato, strawberry, chodang corn, black sesame — ₩17,000
• Persimmon latte, strawberry latte — ₩5,500
• Daegwallyeong samgye latte — ₩7,000

This Gangneung dessert snack can't be bought as singles — only as a box of 10. Ten pieces sounds like a lot, but it disappears in a flash..! Because the flavors are genuinely so varied! Follow along with the photos and recommendations below to pick yours. Coffee flavor if you're in Gangneung, persimmon flavor for a sugar crash, black sesame for a gift to parents, strawberry if you're with kids, and chodang corn for the crowd-pleaser nobody dislikes!

This Gangneung dessert snack also sells americano and iced tea as drinks! As special items they also sell Gangneung breakwater bread and persimmon jam, so it's great for picking up a variety of Gangneung travel souvenirs. Gangneung Sand keeps for 14 days at room temperature and 30 days refrigerated. It disappeared within a day, so those 14 and 30 days meant nothing to me.

What's in the third-floor activity space?

There's also an activity zone on the 3rd floor of Gangneung Sand, which looked like a nice thing to try with kids. There's a review event running too, so try joining in!

Why Gangneung Sand works as a Gangneung souvenir

This Gangneung dessert snack, Gangneung Sand, is famous enough to have swept various awards in Gangneung's tourism souvenir contests!! Isn't it just perfect as a Gangneung travel dessert gift? It's stamped so clearly with Gangneung that it's a completely fitting gift for a Gangneung trip!!

Okay, now let me show you Gangneung Sand up close! One box has 10 pieces! I thought that was quite a lot but... my kids ate 3-4 pieces each in one sitting..? Saying it was so good, strawberry flavor was the absolute favorite. It's great as a kids' snack too, so it'd make a nice gift for daycare or kindergarten friends after a Gangneung trip. Perfect as a Gangneung dessert snack too!! So easy to unwrap one piece at a time while traveling!

So, coffee flavor is individually wrapped with brown lettering.

Strawberry flavor is in true pink with 'Gangneung Sand' printed on it!

It's stamped with 'Gangneung Sand' so clearly that anyone can tell it's from Gangneung, making it a perfect Gangneung travel gift! And the bite-size shape makes it easy to eat too.

Strawberry is the kids' flavor: buy two boxes

The strawberry ones got completely taken over by the kids. It's not too sweet, with a rich strawberry cream flavor, so even I found it sweet-tart and delicious. Mom, just one bite..!!

Apparently freezing it gives you a whole new flavor experience, but... yeah... there was no time for it to make it into the freezer. Life in a family of four where anything tasty vanishes fast, haha;; Has anyone tried freezing it? Let me know how it turns out?

Gangneung Sand! Great as a snack with coffee, and great as welcome food when friends come to visit. That 'this is so Gangneung!! Welcome!!' kind of feeling! Also good as a housewarming snack in Gangneung. Friends visiting from out of town love it too.

Inside, it's packed with sweet strawberry flavor, and the sweet-tart creamy taste is genuinely delicious. When the kids say 'Mom, I want more of this!' after one piece, they never stop at just one..

I especially recommend two boxes of strawberry flavor… that way we get to taste some too..!

How did the coffee Gangneung Sand taste?

Next up, coffee flavor! It's packed with a rich, nutty coffee flavor with coffee cream inside, so it's delicious with an americano too! Anyone who likes coffee will love it, no question!!!

This Gangneung dessert snack, Gangneung Sand! Great to nibble on throughout your Gangneung trip, and great to pick up as a Gangneung travel souvenir gift afterward! The kids especially loved it, so I'd recommend it as a kids' snack too (strawberry flavor) haha!!