Gangneung sand shop, color-coded flavor wrappers: strawberry and corn
In short
Gangneung Sand Main Branch is a tourist-souvenir dessert café in Seonggok-dong, Gangneung, occupying a whole building with a café and ordering counter on the 2nd floor and an experience event zone on the 3rd. On a Friday afternoon visit there was plenty of room in the lot behind the store, and the strawberry and corn Gangneung Sand each came as a 10-piece box. The wrapper lettering is a different color for each flavor, which makes the boxes easy to split up as gifts, and the clean packaging made Gangneung Sand a satisfying Gangneung travel gift.
Good to know
- Sales unit
- No single-piece sales; sold as 10-piece boxes
- Flavors
- 6 kinds: coffee, corn, strawberry, dried persimmon, black sesame, purple sweet potato
- Storage
- 14 days at room temperature, 30 days refrigerated
- Parking
- Lot behind the store; plenty of space on a Friday afternoon
- Store layout
- One building from B1 to 5F, all floors open except 4F; 2F café and ordering, 3F experience event zone
- Event
- Free canned americano for writing a Naver receipt review
- Main branch address
- 31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon
as written by the visitor on Aug 11, 2026
After a trip to Gangneung, you always end up looking for a travel gift to bring back for family or friends. This time I stopped by Gangneung Sand Main Branch, known as a Gangneung dessert snack. The packaging was pretty enough to work as a souvenir, so here's my review.
Parking at Gangneung Sand Main Branch: plenty of space on a Friday afternoon
The parking lot for Gangneung Sand Main Branch is behind the store. I visited on a Friday afternoon and there was plenty of parking space!
The building's exterior, in white and blue, is reminiscent of Santorini. Gangneung Sand uses the entire building from B1 to 5F! Every floor except 4F seems to be open to visitors.
The 2F café floor and four straight years of souvenir contest wins
The 2nd floor of Gangneung Sand Main Branch is the café level, with the order counter and seating. You can enjoy Gangneung Sand together with a drink here.
Turns out Gangneung Sand has swept Gangneung's tourism souvenir competition four years running, whoa. They apparently develop new desserts every year and win with a different lineup each time — total idea machine!
The 2nd floor has an ordering counter and a seating area where you can eat! You can have your Gangneung Sand and a drink here.
Gangneung Sand menu: no single pieces, only 10-piece boxes
Here's the menu board. They also sell drinks like coffee, but there's no single-piece sale — only 10-piece boxes! It keeps for 14 days at room temperature, or up to 30 days refrigerated.
You can choose from 6 flavors total: coffee, corn, strawberry, dried persimmon, black sesame, and purple sweet potato! Each flavor comes with a recommended recipient, which made picking easier.
If you participate in the Naver receipt review event, they give you a free canned Americano! Definitely worth joining.
The 3F experience event zone: the floor to hit with kids
The 3rd floor of Gangneung Sand Main Branch is an experience zone that kids will love.
The 3rd floor is an experience zone that kids will love! Just be sure to read the sandbox usage guidelines before using it. It's a nice floor to visit with kids too.
Strawberry and corn boxes up close, with the Gangneung Sand stamp
I brought home the strawberry and corn flavors of Gangneung Sand.
There are tons of shops calling themselves Gangneung Sand around town, but the original has 'Gangneung Sand' clearly stamped on the cookie surface. Watch out for imitations!
The lettering color on the wrapping differed by flavor, which I liked — easy to tell apart! Great readability.
A Gangneung Sand stamp that's unmistakably clear to anyone.
I cut them in half. I couldn't cut the corn one neatly, sorry haha.
What the strawberry sand tastes like
First, the strawberry sand: crisp, nutty cookies sandwiching a sweet, subtly tangy strawberry cream. It felt like sweet-tart strawberry milk cream sandwiched between nutty cookies! Light and refreshing to eat, and personally, the strawberry sand suited my taste best.
What the corn sand tastes like
With the corn sand, one bite filled my mouth with a sweet, nutty corn flavor. The savory taste of corn combined with the nuttiness of the cookie felt like a generous helping of sweet corn cream sandwiched between the cookies! Hearty, filling, and pretty tasty.
Check the Gangneung Sand Main Branch address before you go
There are so many similarly named shops for this Gangneung souvenir snack that you really need to check the address on the map carefully before heading out!
- Gangneung Sand Main Branch: 31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
- Gangneung Sand Branch 1 (Wolhwa branch): 6 Geumseong-ro 12beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
- Gangneung Sand Branch 2 (Chodang branch): 2494 Nanseolheon-ro, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
- Gangneung Sand Branch 3 (Cookie Lab): 23 Namgu-gil 30beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
I liked being able to enjoy more than just eating in-store — there's also the experience zone and other spaces to explore. It was a great café to visit as a family. There was even an observation deck, and I imagine it'll be nice to check out once the weather cools down.
Gangneung Sand Main Branch was a satisfying pick for a Gangneung souvenir snack to bring home lightly after a trip. It's easy to share individually, and the clean packaging made it good for gifting to family or friends too. Next time I'm in Gangneung, I'd buy it again as a gift for others. If you want something that considers both taste and gift-worthiness instead of the usual common Gangneung souvenirs, I'd recommend Gangneung Sand as a Gangneung travel gift.
Where it is
31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea강원특별자치도 강릉시 성곡고양길5번안길 31 1층~3층
