Gwangjang Market choco pie return gifts, 90 minutes by subway: Ssuk's

Ssuk's Choco Pie has its main store in Gwangju and a branch at Seoul's Gwangjang Market — a premium choco pie shop. Everything is made in-house with organic flour and antibiotic-free eggs, so it's a dessert that works for all ages. They carry six kinds of choco pie, three kinds of cookies and scones, and two kinds of cheesecake, with 6-piece sets in the mid ₩20,000s and 3-piece sets in the mid ₩10,000s — great for gifting.

Where is Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul, and what are its hours?

It's closest to Gwangjang Market's South Gate 1 — two doors past the coin-bread shop. Open weekdays from 11:00 to 18:30, and weekends until 19:00.

This Gwangjang Market favorite offers both online ordering and quick delivery. Bulk orders can be reserved by phone for pickup at a preferred time. Everything comes individually wrapped, so it's popular for daycare group snacks and thank-you gifts.

Pets are welcome, and it's a takeout-only shop with no seating inside.

Mugwort choco pies made without five common additives

True to its name, Ssuk's Choco Pie is a mugwort (ssuk) dessert specialist, and its products are free of 5 things: artificial coloring, preservatives, emulsifiers, shortening, and margarine. These are premium choco pies packed with local specialty ingredients inside Korean wheat and fresh cream. The product is even patented.

Ssuk's Choco Pie also has a milk tea, served in a cute bear-shaped bottle. It pairs really well with the choco pies.

Choco pies, cookies and scones on the menu

Let me introduce the dessert lineup at this Gwangjang Market favorite.

• Choco pie: mugwort, injeolmi (rice cake), mugwort red bean, chocolate, strawberry, peanut
• Cookies: mugwort, tofu, chocolate
• Scones: mugwort salt, chocolate, sweet pumpkin

Everything is individually wrapped and can be arranged into 6-piece or 3-piece sets.

Six choco pies individually cost ₩27,900 total, but the set price is ₩24,800, so buying in sets of 3 or 6 is always a better deal. And chocolate, strawberry, peanut, injeolmi, mugwort, red bean — they're all so good it's hard to choose!!

You can also mix choco pies, cookies, and scones in one set. The owner is really kind too — I'd recommend this Gwangjang Market favorite for sure.

Gift set prices and packaging options at Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul

Since the individual desserts are priced fairly similarly, the set prices are basically fixed (only about ₩100–300 difference).

• 6-piece: ₩24,800
• 3-piece: ₩13,400
• Milk tea: ₩5,900
• Cooler bag: ₩600
• Courier shipping: ₩4,000
• Gift shopping bag: ₩1,000 (default is a clear plastic bag)

Fitting for a Gwangjang Market thank-you gift, free stickers can be added — but only on the 3-piece or 6-piece box sets.

The Gwangjang Market shop is a branch — the main store is located at Market 1913, in front of Gwangju Songjeong Station. It's famous enough that Ssuk's Choco Pie is considered a must-buy dessert if you visit Gwangju.

They included a catalog with the full menu and descriptions, so if you're curious, take a look!

Each choco pie is individually wrapped in plastic and packed into its own box so it doesn't shift around, so there's no worry even for long trips. In midsummer, the chocolate coating can melt, so I'd recommend the cooler bag.

They also had Ssuk's wine, made with shine muscat grapes and apples — looked like it would be sweet and refreshing.

How the choco pies held up after a 90-minute subway ride

I packed a gift set made up of all 6 choco pie flavors, and even took photos at the bear-shaped mirror haha. I took the subway for 90 minutes to get home, and nothing was crushed at all!!

Best of the six flavors: mugwort injeolmi and chocolate

My top picks are the mugwort injeolmi (rice cake) and the chocolate. The injeolmi is the heaviest of the bunch — there's actual rice cake inside, which makes the texture perfect. The chocolate one has chocolate chips inside, giving it a nice crunch. Neither is too sweet, and both are soft, so this is a dessert with no dislikers regardless of age or gender.

They're about palm-sized. Even the chocolate coating doesn't taste like a greasy processed product — it's rich, smooth, real chocolate that melts nicely. Even my parents, who don't usually like sweets, really enjoyed them.

The injeolmi one is a total visual knockout. The mugwort flavor is amazing — not too strong, not too weak, just the perfect pleasant mugwort aroma. Since they steam the mugwort themselves in-store, it's on a totally different level from any mugwort dessert I've had before. Crisp on the outside, soft and melting on the inside... genuinely delicious. There's a famous mugwort dessert from another region too, but honestly, it's no comparison. If you go to Gwangjang Market, you have to try this!!!

That wraps up my visit to this must-stop dessert shop at Gwangjang Market. Made from good ingredients by hand, these choco pies are great for gifting, and perfect as a snack for kids too. Not too sweet and soft in texture, so there shouldn't be any dislikers regardless of age or gender.