Gangneung snack shop with baby-friendly parking: coffee vs corn sand

What is Gangneung Sand Main Branch?

Gangneung Sand Main Branch is a Gangneung souvenir snack shop located on Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil in Gangneung. On this Gangneung trip, we visited Gangneung Sand Main Branch, famous for Gangneung souvenir snacks. A friend gave me some coffee sand after her Gangneung trip, and it was so good I knew I had to go myself. So I saved it as a must-visit spot for this trip and picked some up! Here's my review.

Parking and the building at Gangneung Sand Main Branch

Gangneung Sand Main Branch has a parking lot next to the building. We stopped by while driving around with our baby, and the lot was spacious so parking was easy. When traveling in Gangneung with a baby, easy parking really matters, haha.

At first I assumed it would be a small shop since it's just a place to buy sand cookies, but when I actually got there, they use an entire building, so it was bigger than expected.

Inside, it's not just a sales space — there are things like art pieces on display and spots worth photographing, so it was fun to look around. Going with a baby, it was nice to have things to see rather than just buying snacks and leaving. Our baby actually had a blast running around, haha.

Inside Gangneung Sand Main Branch, floor by floor

Instead of just picking sand cookies and leaving right away, we walked through the inner part of the store with our baby before heading out. It was a good place to stop by briefly during a Gangneung trip, look around, and pick up snacks.

Gangneung Sand menu and courier shipping

What we picked at Gangneung Sand were two kinds: ☕ coffee sand and 🌽 corn sand. Since Gangneung is famous for both coffee and chodang corn, I wanted to try both. There were quite a lot of drink options too. Please check the photos below for prices, haha.

Turns out Gangneung Sand also offers courier delivery!

One unique thing was that the experience zone and event zone are separate?? If you bring kids, trying out the experience zone would be nice. I didn't know it existed and had another schedule to keep, so I couldn't try it, sob.

Gift packaging and photo zones

At Gangneung Sand Main Branch, they packed the sand cookies so nicely.

We took photos around the building, haha. There are quite a few photo zones! When traveling in Gangneung, you often end up thinking about a gift for family or friends, and something like this dessert snack is easier to carry than something too big or heavy. Plus Gangneung Sand's packaging is clean, so it seemed like a good Gangneung travel gift. The taste doesn't seem to be too polarizing either, so most people would probably like it.

Even our baby showed interest in the Gangneung Sand, so I broke off a bit of just the cookie part and gave it to them, and they ate it well, haha. Kept asking for more. Must be really tasty...

Coffee sand vs corn sand: which tastes better?

The one on the left was coffee sand, the one on the right was corn sand — you could tell them apart by the logo color.

Since Gangneung is famous for both coffee and chodang corn, I wanted to try both. After tasting, I liked the coffee sand more. The coffee cream flavor was richer than expected, which was perfect for my palate since I love coffee, and not just the cream in between but the cookie part was tasty too.

Eating the coffee sand one by one, I found myself reaching for it the most, haha. The corn sand had a totally different vibe! It had that sweet, nutty flavor unique to chodang corn, so it definitely felt like a snack brought back from Gangneung. Since I love coffee so much, coffee sand is my pick!

Having tried it this time, I got curious about the other flavors for next time I visit Gangneung. Next time I come, I'm planning to buy different flavors.

Is Gangneung Sand Main Branch worth a stop?

If you're looking for a Gangneung souvenir snack, or a place to stop by briefly while traveling in Gangneung with a baby, Gangneung Sand Main Branch is worth a visit — parking is easy and there's plenty to look at. The taste was good and there was plenty to see, which I liked. If you're looking for Gangneung dessert snacks or a Gangneung travel gift, save this one and stop by.