Gangneung gift shop: corn & purple sweet potato sand, Gangneung Sand

Why I chose Gangneung Sand as a Gangneung travel gift

Gangneung Sand (강릉샌드) is a signature dessert of Gangneung. I was on a summer trip to Gangwon Province with my boyfriend and looking for a simple dessert gift for my family and coworkers, and when I came across Gangneung Sand I thought, oh, this is it! So I headed to the main branch :)

There are as many as three branches in Gangneung, but I'd heard the main branch is the signature store and that the building is pretty, so I went there. The building really took my breath away, and I packed two boxes of each flavor for happy gift-giving!

• Gangneung Sand Main Branch / Daily 09:30-19:00
• Takeout, group seating, Wi-Fi, reservations, separate men's/women's restrooms

What is the Cookie Castle building at Gangneung Sand Main Branch like?

The main branch is a white-and-blue building on a quiet side street. The whole way there with the GPS I kept wondering, the Gangneung Sand main branch is out here..? And then, unbelievably, there it was in the middle of nowhere, a gorgeous, romantic building. I was so surprised.

Is this Santorini in Greece..? (It's not.) But it really has that vibe! The main branch building is so pretty..

It's a new building completed in 2025! They already have several Gangneung Sand branches, so I can't even imagine how well it sells to build such a grand main building.. I guess that's proof of how tasty and famous this Gangneung dessert is?

Walking up the stairs was kind of exciting..

Fresh, romantic Cookie Castle, the Gangneung Sand main branch. It really lives up to the name, it's practically a castle... why is it so big and pretty? The fact that the whole building is Gangneung Sand.. so cool.

Cookie Castle is the signature store of the Gangneung Sand main branch. In this beautifully decorated space you can enjoy Gangneung Sand with a cup of coffee, or take it away. The café is spacious and comfortable too!

Desserts you can buy at Gangneung Sand Main Branch

You can try both Gangneung Breakwater Bread (강릉방파제빵), which won silver at the 2025 Gangneung tourism souvenir contest, and Gangneung Sand, the signature dessert that won gold at the 2022 contest. I saw the breakwater bread for the first time at the main branch, and it really looks like a breakwater, haha, so cute.

Gangneung Sand comes in 6 flavors: coffee, dried persimmon, Chodang corn, black sesame, strawberry and purple sweet potato. I heard the ones with coffee and dried persimmon, both famous Gangneung foods, are especially popular, but I picked the Chodang corn (초당옥수수), which is what I think of when I think of Gangneung, and the newly released purple sweet potato!

Gangneung Sand is ₩17,000 per box. Ordering at the kiosk was easy.

"Persimmon to You".. is a persimmon jam, I think? Besides Gangneung Sand, they keep developing tasty, distinctive desserts that capture Gangneung's romance, mood and healthy food!

At Coffee Castle you can get signature drinks like the Persimmon to You latte, the Strawberry to Me latte and the Daegwallyeong Samgye latte(?), plus canned americano. Sadly, Gangneung Sand can't be sold individually or in mixed-flavor boxes, and the shelf life is 14 days at room temperature or 30 days refrigerated, so keep that in mind.

Packed before Yangyang, kept in the lodging fridge all the way to Seoul

Two boxes of each flavor, packed! They put together such a pretty Gangneung travel-gift set so quickly that my hands weren't empty on the way to Seoul.. Even when you hand it out to family or coworkers, it's pretty and cute enough to make people smile.

After a cool, relaxing break at Cookie Castle, I went back to the car. It was so hot that I wanted a coffee for a bit, but I had a schedule.. On day 2 we had to go from Gangneung to Yangyang, so we were kind of busy.. haha. Yangyang is a bit far, so I bought the gifts before leaving Gangneung, kept them in the lodging fridge, and took them to Seoul, and the taste hadn't changed at all, so they made good gifts! A totally packed 3-day, 2-night Gangwon trip.

A bright sand package that's great as a Gangneung dessert snack or travel gift. The pink floral box makes me think of spring, and since it's summer I wish they'd switched to a more summery look, but it's pretty so whatever..^_^ haha

Trying to photograph the Gangneung Sand on a quiet, pretty bench outside.

Corn on the left, purple sweet potato on the right! You can't mix flavors in one box, so I picked two flavors, split them half and half, and gave one box to take to my boyfriend's home, haha

Not a single broken or uneven spot: a neat, square, thick Gangneung Sand. Sand-type snacks like this have become common lately, but Gangneung Sand can only be bought in Gangneung, and the flavors have a Gangneung feel and plenty of variety, so it seems like an easy stop for picking up a Gangneung travel gift!

How did the corn and purple sweet potato flavors taste?

I split the corn and purple sweet potato boxes half and half myself, gave one to each family member and one to each coworker, and everyone said it was not too sweet, with a refined taste, and that they enjoyed it. I was so proud!

I had Gangneung Sand as a quick breakfast too. One corn, one purple sweet potato!

A square sand of thick, golden-brown butter cookies stacked together. The cookies aren't greasy at all, just nicely buttery, nutty and crisp! They said they use top-grade gourmet butter, and it shows..💗 And the inside is packed with cream.

The corn flavor is nutty and mild! The typical sweet-corn taste isn't as strong as I expected; it's subtle and clean. You bite into bits of corn here and there, and it's not very sweet overall, so I think older folks would like it too!

The new purple sweet potato flavor is totally my style. The sweet potato taste is stronger than I expected, and the pink color from the purple sweet potato is so pretty! It's a new flavor, but I think it'll keep selling well, haha

Having tried it myself, I felt I'd chosen a good Gangneung travel-gift dessert. If you're wondering what to bring home from Gangneung, just pick up a box of Gangneung Sand on your way back!