Gaesin-dong rice cake shop in Cheongju for songpyeon: Tteokmama

Rice cakes and hangwa (traditional Korean sweets) at Tteokmama Gaesin Branch

Hi everyone~ One weekend morning my kid asked for songpyeon (half-moon rice cake). When it comes to rice cake shops with lots of variety and good taste, Tteokmama is the name that comes to mind. So I went to Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch. Here's how it went :)

Where is Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, and where do you park?

Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch is at 13 Bokdae-ro, 1st floor, Unit 101, Seowon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, and it's open 08:30–21:00 (closed Sep 25–26 for Chuseok).

• 📍13 Bokdae-ro, 1st floor, Unit 101, Seowon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
• ⏰08:30–21:00 (closed Sep 25–26 for Chuseok)
• 🅿️Navigation will direct you to the back of the building, so park in the underground lot of the building with the CU convenience store.

Inside the Gaesin-dong rice cake shop

The inside of Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch was clean and pleasant. It had a natural wood tone — bright and tidy with a touch of traditional style.

Tteokmama menu and how the kiosk ordering works

You can order easily at Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch through a kiosk. The showcase had everything from kids' favorite drinks to soda, which seemed perfect to enjoy alongside the rice cakes.

With rice cakes I usually prefer sikhye (sweet rice punch), sujeonggwa (cinnamon-persimmon punch), milk, or coffee. Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch sells traditional drinks like sikhye and sujeonggwa as well as coffee, tea, smoothies, and juice. Next to the counter is a case of refrigerated rice cakes — you can buy them individually packed or as a dessert box, which seems great for a long trip or a last-minute gift.

What the kids picked: songpyeon, baekseolgi and patsirutteok

What we picked at Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch was baekseolgi (₩2,000 each), patsirutteok (₩1,800 each), one pack of songpyeon that the kids wanted, mini chocolate injeolmi, and a Dubai chocolate chapssaltteok. There were so many kinds of rice cakes that both the kids and I had trouble deciding.

First I picked baekseolgi and patsirutteok — at ₩2,000 and ₩1,800 each, they were easy to grab without worry. The kids picked their wanted songpyeon in a pack. My chocolate-loving second kid chose the mini chocolate injeolmi. My first kid picked a single Dubai chocolate chapssaltteok from the fridge.

Inside the refrigerated showcase were colorful, neat jeolpyeon, baram-tteok, and kkul-tteok along with many other kinds of rice cakes. Even as an adult, I found myself thinking, 'have rice cakes always been this pretty?' The kids loved seeing all the colorful rice cakes too, saying they wanted this one and that one.

They also sell red bean fruit chapssaltteok, but it wasn't on display when I visited, so unfortunately I couldn't get a photo. But at ₩6,000 for 4 pieces, I thought it would be perfect for return gifts, daycare, events, or promotion celebrations.

Hangwa and custom rice cakes for first birthdays and return gifts

Besides rice cakes, Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch also displays traditional Korean snacks like yugwa, handmade oranda, walnut gangjeong, and yakgwa. It's nice to have snacks that both adults and kids can enjoy, giving you a wide range of choices :)

You can custom-order dol (first birthday), baek-il (100th day), wedding return-gift, funeral return-gift, corporate event, store opening, wedding ibaji, ritual (gosa/jesa), and birthday rice cake cakes at reasonable prices.

The total: under 20,000 won for the whole basket

We put everything we picked with the kids on the counter to pay, and even though we'd grabbed a variety of things we wanted, I was surprised the total didn't reach ₩20,000.

• Songpyeon ₩4,000
• Baekseolgi ₩2,000 each
• Sirutteok ₩1,800
• Mini chocolate injeolmi ₩4,000
• Dubai chocolate chapssaltteok ₩4,000

The rice cakes were also neatly packed into vinyl bags~ We took everything home to try with the kids. The kids loved how neat and pretty each package looked too~

How the songpyeon, chocolate injeolmi, baekseolgi and sirutteok tasted at home

The songpyeon from Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch looked so appetizing with its colorful appearance, and the baekseolgi and sirutteok were still warm when we got home. You know how songpyeon splits into the sesame-filling camp and the bean-paste-filling camp? Luckily my kids and I are all sesame people, so we enjoyed it a lot. The rice cake skin was just the right thickness too. It was soft and chewy with a subtle, not-too-sweet flavor that anyone, young or old, would like.

The chocolate injeolmi had a chewy yet softly stretchy texture, and the castella powder coating on the outside added a nutty flavor.

My first kid has been learning to measure length lately, so she wanted to measure the baekseolgi with a ruler — it turned out to be 6cm by 6cm. Might be a useful reference for size haha. The baekseolgi was generously sized, enough to fill you up as a snack. And even after bringing it home, it was still warm and moist, which made it even better to eat~

The sirutteok was the same size as the baekseolgi. I personally love Bibibig ice cream, and the red bean flavor of the sirutteok reminded me of it — such a welcome taste. Tteokmama's sirutteok has become my favorite rice cake.

My husband's company will need return-gift rice cakes soon, and I'm planning to recommend Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch — the taste, portion, and price were all reasonable.