Jongno bakery: thick mugwort milk tea, pies my parents loved, Ssuk's

How I got to Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul at Gwangjang Market

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul (쑥스초코파이 서울점) is a mugwort choco pie specialist in Gwangjang Market, Jongno. It's been ages since I last went to Gwangjang Market, and I came home with some delicious dessert. When I traveled to Gwangju last year I bought mugwort choco pies from Ssuk's, and I heard the Seoul branch is inside Gwangjang Market, so I had to visit, hehe.

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul is at Gwangjang Market Gate South 1, a 3-minute walk from Exit 7 of Jongno 5-ga Station. It's a 2-minute walk from Gwangjang Market Chapssal Kkwabaegi (glutinous rice twisted doughnuts), 3 minutes from Starbucks Gwangjang Market, and only 30 seconds from Onion Gwangjang Market and Chonggaknae Bungeoppang (fish-shaped pastry). For a quick pickup you can use the public parking on the main road in front of the shop, and if you want it fast, you can call the shop and they'll get your order ready for the time you choose. Nice, nice, hehe.

What kind of brand is Ssuk's Choco Pie?

Ssuk's Choco Pie, a mugwort dessert specialist, has only two stores in the whole country: Gwangju and Seoul!! It started in 2016 as Korea's first mugwort choco pie, and it's popular for unique Korean desserts made with specialty ingredients grown in Korea and supplied fresh every day.

The Gwangju flagship in particular is a famous Gwangju bakery and a must-stop on bakery tours, haha. Mugwort is the herb that appears alongside the bear in the Dangun founding myth and stands for Korea. Ssuk's (Sooks) Choco Pie is made with it, a naturalist dessert that reinterprets natural mugwort and Korean-grown specialty ingredients in a modern way.

Receipt review perk and gift packaging

At Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul, if you write a Naver receipt review they give you a sampler of 3 mugwort cookies, and if you get a box of 3 or 6 choco pies they stick a sticker on it too, so it seems perfect for packing a dessert gift, haha.

Ssuk's Choco Pie is Korea's "first" mugwort choco pie, on sale since 2016, and it's said to even have a patent. For health, none of the products contain artificial colors, preservatives, emulsifiers, shortening or margarine. Nice, nice!!!!

The green, green atmosphere inside Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul

The shop is full of hip little props, so browsing is fun. It's packed with green items that stand for mugwort.

A giant doll? So cute, lol. Even the shopping bags are green, so Ssuk's really put their heart into mugwort!

You can get boxes of 3 or 6, so Ssuk's Choco Pie makes a great dessert gift.

How is Ssuk's Choco Pie different from a regular choco pie?

Unlike conventional choco pies, Ssuk's was developed as a chilled fresh choco pie, with less sugar so you can taste the freshness of the cream. It's a high-quality premium dessert made after long testing by a dessert specialist who graduated from a pastry school in Tokyo, Japan, which makes it even better, right?!?!

On top of that, a researcher who spent 10 years at a flour company launching Korean-wheat flour products picked Korean wheat grown naturally by Korean farmers and clean regional specialty ingredients, and made Ssuk's Choco Pie as a snack she could give her own children, who have atopic dermatitis, without worry. That makes me trust it even more!!

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul menu: choco pies, scones, cookies and mugwort milk tea

The shop displays choco pies, scones and cookies, and they all look delicious!!

The cheesecake looks so good too...?! And it's a mugwort cheesecake!!!!

I tried the mugwort milk tea as well, and it's really rich and thick and so delicious!! And they sell wine too, what?!?!?!?! hahaha

The eggs used in Ssuk's desserts are antibiotic-free, "Poffree" eggs from hens raised on 100% pure grain feed and natural fermented liquid. The fridge holding the choco pies also shows the production date in detail.

Packing 6 kinds of choco pie and the receipt-review mugwort cookie

I packed up 6 kinds of Ssuk's Choco Pie and joined the receipt review to get a mugwort cookie too. Yay!

When I opened the green box, 6 choco pies were inside. Each pie has another individual sealed wrap inside its own box, so it stays sealed from the air when opened. Nice, nice! Ssuk's desserts aren't made in a factory but in an open kitchen at a CESCO-certified hygienic shop, so when you visit you can watch them being made yourself, hahaha.

Ssuk's Choco Pie has six kinds of choco pie in total. Even the product guide is green, green, green~~~~~ hahaha

How did the mugwort cookie and the choco pie actually taste?

I started with the mugwort cookie I got as a freebie, and the mugwort aroma is so strong, so delicious! With milk it's pure heaven!

Each Ssuk's Choco Pie is individually wrapped, so you can eat it hygienically.

Inside is plenty of fresh cream that isn't overly sweet, and my mom and dad said it was really delicious, haha. The mugwort aroma, the crunchy chocolate coating and the fresh cream melting in your mouth were all so good!!

Ssuk's Choco Pie is perfect as a Korean dessert gift. I'll have to visit again! hahaha

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul location and opening hours

• Address: 25 Jongno 32-gil, 1st floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Gwangjang Market Gate South 1, 3-minute walk from Jongno 5-ga Station Exit 7)
• Weekdays 11:00 - 18:30
• Saturday 10:00 - 20:00
• Sunday 10:00 - 19:00