Gangneung sand cookie shop, six flavors: Gangneung Sand Main Branch

Where is Gangneung Sand Main Branch?

Gangneung Sand Main Branch is near Ojukheon, so it's best to get there by car. Fair warning — if you search the map, there's a place with the same name in the central market too, but this one is the award-winning original, so it's the real deal! Parking is easy since there's a wide space behind the building!

I'm back from a trip to Gangneung and wanted to write up my review of Gangneung Sand Main Branch. I was torn on what to bring back as a Gangneung travel gift, but after visiting in person, I get why everyone comes here haha.

The building's exterior caught my eye right away. The blend of blue and white gave it a cool, almost exotic feel 💙

Which floor sells Gangneung Sand cookies?

You can buy Gangneung Sand on the 2nd floor. Apparently it's won an award at Gangneung City's tourism souvenir contest, so I was already looking forward to it haha.

The inside of the 2nd floor store was bigger than I expected. There's a photo zone too, so it's great for shopping, snapping some pictures, and taking your time!

They also sell coffee, persimmon latte, and persimmon syrup drinks — curious about the taste, so I'll try them next time haha.

Six flavors, their prices, and the two boxes we chose

Gangneung Sand comes in 6 flavors: coffee, persimmon, Chodang corn (초당옥수수, a sweet corn variety famous in Gangneung), black sesame, strawberry, and sweet potato. You can pick according to your taste with the descriptions as a guide haha. We went with coffee and Chodang corn.

• Coffee ₩16,000
• Chodang corn ₩17,000

Prices vary a bit by flavor, so it's worth checking before your visit!

Gyeongpo Lake from the 5th-floor observatory

The Gangneung Sand Main Branch building goes up to 5 floors, so it felt like a large café with plenty to explore on each level. There's an elevator, so we went floor by floor. The 4th floor is office-only, so that one's skipped.

There's an observatory on the 5th floor. The weather was great that day, so the view was pretty good haha. You can see Gyeongpo Lake off in the distance 👀 With Ojukheon and Gyeongpo Lake both nearby, this seems like a solid route to combine into one trip.

The 3rd-floor activity space: is it worth bringing kids?

On the 3rd floor there's a play space where kids can drive a bulldozer and excavator, which I think kids would really love. They love sand play, right haha. Adults can hang out there with a coffee too.

The Gangneung Sand driver's license plate prop is so cute haha, they really committed to the concept lol.

On the way out after slowly looking around, there was a small free photo exhibit, so I checked it out briefly. The photos capture various scenes of the Gangneung sea.

A place where you go to buy Gangneung dessert snacks and end up enjoying exploring the building itself 😊

I especially liked the pretty exterior of this place. It feels much bigger than the other Gangneung Sand branches, so it's worth a visit.

Unboxing coffee and Chodang corn sand: how they taste

Gangneung Sand unboxing time~ Each box has 10 pieces, and the box design has cherry blossoms, so it's pretty and great for gifting haha. Something about the 'Gangneung Sand' lettering feels kind of cute too.

I tried the corn flavor first — the corn cream has a hint of vanilla, so it was soft and tasty 😋 The sweetness wasn't too strong, so it went perfectly with coffee and didn't feel heavy 👍 The coffee flavor also had a subtle coffee aroma nicely soaked into the cream — both had their own charm.

📌 Final verdict on Gangneung Sand Main Branch

Overall, exploring the building was fun and the taste wasn't overwhelming, which I was satisfied with. The corn flavor in particular suited me best personally. If you're deciding on Gangneung Sand as a Gangneung travel gift, the main branch is worth a stop! If you're going with kids, don't miss the 1st-floor play space either haha.