Gwangjang Market bakery gift box shipped by courier: Ssuk's Choco Pie

I was wandering around Gwangjang Market and stumbled on a slightly unusual dessert!

This is Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul. It's tucked inside Gwangjang Market, and honestly the name alone made me curious.

Mugwort (ssuk) + choco pie — what a combo. I really couldn't guess how it would taste at first! Turns out this place started in 2016 as Korea's first mugwort choco pie, and it even holds a patent for the product. That made me even more curious 👍🏻

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul 25 Jongno 32-gil, 1st floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul Weekends: 10:00–19:00 Weekdays: 11:00–18:30 Takeout · reservations · waiting area · pet-friendly · WiFi · easy payment available

What is Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul inside Gwangjang Market like?

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul sits right inside Gwangjang Market, so it's easy to swing by while browsing the market. These days Gwangjang Market has so much food — from traditional market bites to cute dessert shops — that just looking around is half the fun.

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul is exactly the kind of spot you'd stumble on while exploring Gwangjang Market. The shop isn't huge, and it's set up more as a waiting area than a place to sit and eat.

The green-on-green look suited the mugwort choco pie theme really well, and the overall vibe felt clean. Personally I liked that the packaging was quite pretty — from the shopping bag to the gift box, everything looked neat, so it felt more like a proper gift than just grabbing a dessert.

Why the Ssuk's Choco Pie box works as a Gwangjang Market gift — and ships by courier

Ssuk's Choco Pie comes packed in a gift box by default, and apparently the 3-piece and 6-piece sets sell best.

After some back and forth, I went with the 6-piece box this time.

Dessert gifts are tricky — too pricey feels like a lot, too plain feels underwhelming. But Ssuk's Choco Pie is reasonably priced, which made it feel like a solid pick while out at Gwangjang Market. It seemed like a good light gift for family or friends too. They also offer courier shipping, so it works even if you can't carry it home yourself.

The cute bear milk tea at Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul

Besides the choco pies, Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul also sells milk tea as a drink. But it doesn't just come out plain — it's shaped like a bear, which was incredibly cute. Next to the wrapped choco pies it looked like part of a gift set too. I focused on the choco pies this time, but I want to try the milk tea next visit.

Korea's first mugwort choco pie: fresh cream instead of marshmallow

Ssuk's Choco Pie is exactly what the name says — mugwort meets choco pie. It launched in 2016 as Korea's first mugwort choco pie and even holds a patent.

Another thing that stood out: they use locally grown Korean specialty ingredients sourced fresh daily, aiming for a distinctly Korean dessert.

One detail really caught my eye — no artificial coloring, preservatives, emulsifiers, shortening, or margarine. Five things left out entirely. That gives it a different feel from a typical choco pie.

It's also a chilled dessert, which is another distinct feature. They cut back on sugar and lean into the fresh taste of the cream. And instead of marshmallow, Ssuk's Choco Pie is packed with fresh cream! Cut one open and you'll see a generous amount of cream inside. The shop makes a limited quantity fresh each day and doesn't skimp on ingredients. Tasting it, I could tell the cream really is the star here.

The six flavors I picked for the box

There were so many flavors that day, I agonized over it and ended up going with the 6-piece set.

Honestly I meant to pick just one, but with so many varieties it was hard to choose.

• Geomundo sea-breeze mugwort
• Sea-breeze mugwort injeolmi (rice cake)
• Sea-breeze mugwort whole red bean
• Nonsan strawberry
• Udo peanut
• Gwangju real chocolate!

In the end, going for the 6-piece set was the right call. Each flavor had its own charm, and it was fun trying them one by one.

This one is the sea-breeze mugwort injeolmi — chocolate hits first on the outside, and inside the mugwort bread is moist, layered with injeolmi (sweet rice cake) and fresh cream! The cream was tastier than I expected. There's the classic choco pie sweetness, but the fresh cream in the center makes the texture much softer. Being a chilled dessert, it also felt noticeably moister than a regular choco pie.

Eating through all six, each one had its own slightly different flavor, and I kept thinking 'oh, this one tastes like this.' Personally, comparing several flavors side by side was way more fun than just finishing one and calling it done.

How to store them: refrigerated 8 days, frozen 30 days

Since Ssuk's Choco Pie is a chilled dessert made with fresh cream, it's worth double-checking how to store it.

Refrigerated: 8 days Frozen: 30 days

If you receive it as a gift and can't eat it right away, definitely check the storage info. Especially with the 6-piece set, it's probably better to split it between the fridge and freezer rather than eating it all at once.

Looking for a dessert to take home from Gwangjang Market?

With so much food at Gwangjang Market, deciding what to eat can be overwhelming, but Ssuk's Choco Pie is worth a stop if you want something a bit different. It's not just a snack option either — it also works well for anyone hunting for a Gwangjang Market gift set. The packaging is already clean and pretty, so there's no need to wrap it separately, which is a nice bonus. The 3-piece set is good for a light gift, and if you want to try several flavors like I did, the 6-piece set is the way to go.

Above all, mugwort and chocolate worked better together than I expected. The mugwort flavor wasn't overpowering, and the chocolate wasn't just plain sweet — the moist texture with soft fresh cream made it genuinely enjoyable to eat.

If you're heading to Gwangjang Market, don't just stick to the traditional market food — check out desserts like this too. I brought home six pieces this time, and in the end, I happily finished all six. :)