Whole red bean mugwort choco pie after a Jongmyo Shrine walk: Jongno

After touring Jongmyo Shrine and eating on Seosullla-gil, off we go to Gwangjang Market~

A gorgeous autumn day. After finishing up at Jongmyo Shrine and having a great meal on Seosullla-gil, we stopped by a place said to be the mugwort dessert spot in Jongno 5-ga — Ssuk's Choco Pie.

A treat recommendation for older palates near Jongno 5-ga and Gwangjang Market

I've always loved mugwort and black sesame, so hahahaha, when I heard they made desserts out of mugwort for this whole 'grandma-core' vibe, there was no way I could skip it, hahaha.

The first Seoul branch after the Gwangju flagship

The flagship store of Ssuk's Choco Pie is located inside the market at Gwangju Songjeong KTX Station. A mugwort dessert spot that made its way up from Gwangju, Jeolla-do~~~~

If you buy the 3-piece or 6-piece box, they attach a cute sticker to the package. Perfect for birthday wishes, thank-yous, or New Year greetings — a sticker adds a nice personal touch.

Mugwort dessert gift sets and the bear-bottle mugwort milk tea

You can add an ice cooler bag and have it shipped by courier too. Even better — they also sell mugwort milk tea. It even comes in an adorable bear bottle and looks incredibly delicious. When I visited, sadly the mugwort milk tea was sold out. I'd recommend an opening rush.

A varied lineup of mugwort desserts

The refrigerated case is packed with a colorful mugwort dessert lineup. There are scones made with sea-breeze mugwort from Geomundo Island, and Ssuk's cookies made with sea-breeze mugwort salt too. The choco pies come in various mugwort variations as well — sea-breeze mugwort, sea-breeze mugwort whole red bean, sea-breeze mugwort injeolmi (sweet rice cake), and more, which I really loved. This would make a wonderful treat gift for older relatives.

Green dessert boxes, great for gift wrapping

The packaging is such a cute, refined green box. If you're looking for a dessert shop for gift wrapping, I'd recommend this place. The box color and design are super cute and sophisticated.

Open the box and each piece is individually wrapped inside again, which really shows the care put in. This would be especially great as a gift for older relatives.

The Ssuk's Choco Pie dessert list

They also have scones made with domestic soybean tofu, so I'll have to come back and try them next time. I'm super curious about the sea-breeze mugwort salt cookies too. They say it's a combination of New Zealand butter, Geomundo sea-breeze mugwort, and French Guérande salt — sounds like a completely premium, high-end cookie.

A dessert brand you can trust

This is said to be Korea's top mugwort choco pie, patented back in 2016. What makes it trustworthy is that it contains no artificial coloring, preservatives, emulsifiers, shortening, or margarine. It's a premium dessert made by a dessert specialist who graduated from a confectionery school in Tokyo, Japan. The maker is a father raising twins with sensitive atopic skin, which makes it easy to trust what goes into it.

I'm rooting for the story of Ssuk's Choco Pie.

The sea-breeze mugwort whole red bean choco pie — not too sweet, and I loved that

The one I was most excited to try was the sea-breeze mugwort whole red bean choco pie, so I ate it first. Not too sweet, soft and crumbly — so, so good. I bet it would go perfectly with milk or coffee. The mugwort aroma is lovely, and I think the not-too-sweet, soft texture is this dessert's biggest strength. I think older relatives would absolutely love it as a gift.