Gangneung souvenir shop: two sand boxes for ₩34,000 at Gangneung Sand
In short
Gangneung Sand Main Branch is a dessert café and souvenir shop on Seonggokgoyang-gil in Gangneung, Gangwon, filling all three floors of its own building. A couple stopped by on the last day of their trip and packed one strawberry box and one Chodang corn box for ₩34,000 total, and once home the strawberry flavor was the clear favorite. Each piece is individually wrapped and keeps 4–5 days refrigerated, making Gangneung Sand an easy travel gift to carry home.
Good to know
- Location
- 1F–3F, 31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon
- Hours
- Daily 9:30 AM–7:00 PM (last order 6:30 PM)
- Parking
- Private lot for customers (calling ahead is recommended)
- Price
- Gangneung Sand ₩17,000 per box, ₩34,000 for two boxes
- Popular flavors
- Coffee, Chodang corn, strawberry
- Packing and delivery
- Courier shipping accepted at the counter; individually wrapped
- Storage
- Stays at its best for 4–5 days refrigerated
- Price reference
- ₩34,000 ≈ $24.5 · ₩17,000 ≈ $12.5 (2026-09-20)
as written by the visitor on Sep 19, 2026
A dessert that's perfect as a Gangneung souvenir — Gangneung Sand Main Branch.
If you're looking for a thoughtful Gangneung souvenir, pay attention! I visited Gangneung Sand Main Branch, a sweet dessert shop. Here's my review of the boxes I packed up — perfect for a travel gift, let's go.
Where is Gangneung Sand Main Branch, and is there parking?
Gangneung Sand Main Branch is at 31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, and it's open daily from 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM (last order 6:30 PM). There's always one big dilemma on the last day of a trip: what to buy so the people back home think you have good taste. My husband and I really hate messing up our route when we travel, so we looked for a place we could stop at right on our way out of town before heading home.
There's a dedicated parking lot so parking is easy, and the neighborhood is packed with local favorite restaurants too, so it's a great spot to pair with a meal and finish off with a light dessert.
Inside the three floors of Gangneung Sand Main Branch
Gangneung Sand Main Branch has this breezy, Santorini-style exterior, and they use the whole building from the 1st to the 3rd floor. It gives such a great open, uncramped feeling.
The café space inside is nicely set up so you can enjoy drinks and sand cookies together.
On the 1st floor there's even a space with art and photo exhibits,
and plenty of photo-worthy spots, so it's worth coming just to spend some time here while you shop for sand cookies.
Courier shipping, best-selling flavors and how the boxes are packed
Gangneung Sand Main Branch also handles a solid amount of courier orders. No need to lug your bags around — just have them ship it from the counter and you can walk out empty-handed!
Scanning the display case, the lineup is pretty varied. They said coffee, Chodang corn, and strawberry are the best-selling flavors.
Best of all, as a Gangneung travel gift, the box itself is sturdy and pretty enough that you don't even need extra wrapping. Just hand over the box as-is and you're done — instant Gangneung souvenir 👍
Honest taste test: Chodang corn sand vs strawberry sand
I'm obsessed with baked cookies and crispy sand-style desserts. I'd been planning to try Gangneung Sand no matter what while preparing for this trip. After a long, happy struggle in front of the display case, I picked one box of strawberry and one box of corn.
Two boxes total, ₩34,000. Each box is ₩17,000, and seeing how packed they are, it's a genuine steal given today's crazy prices.
As soon as we got home, I unboxed the corn flavor first since I was curious. The second I opened the bag, a nutty aroma hit me right away — though I personally felt the corn flavor could've been a bit more intense for extra deliciousness.
It's packed with a buttery cream filling that doesn't feel greasy, chewy and sweet — the kind of flavor anyone would like without much room for dislike.
But my absolute pick is the strawberry flavor! This is seriously insane. The moment you bite in, a fresh strawberry scent spreads pleasantly through your mouth, and the balance between the soft cream and the crispy cookie shell is out of control!
The bright tartness kicks in before it ever gets sickly sweet, so you can easily polish off two or three in one sitting. When my energy dips around 3 PM, brewing an iced coffee no matter the weather and eating one of these — that right there is heaven.
How long does Gangneung Sand keep?
On top of that, not having to worry about an expiration deadline is a real plus. Refrigerated, the quality holds up fine for 4–5 days. Whoever receives it can eat them at their own pace without any pressure to rush — total lucky break! And since they're individually wrapped, they're easy to toss into a bag on your way to work.
Is Gangneung Sand worth it as a souvenir?
This dessert tour was a total success. Easy to store, easy to eat one by one, and at ₩17,000 the price is totally reasonable, isn't it haha. It's not overly sweet either, so it works for grandma-level tastes all the way to kid tastes — I'd recommend it as a Gangneung souvenir for everyone.
Where it is
31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-angil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea, 1F–3F강원특별자치도 강릉시 성곡고양길5번안길 31 1층~3층
