Return-gift rice cakes near Bokdae intersection, Cheongju: Tteokmama

Today I visited "Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch" in Gaesin-dong, Cheongju! These days café desserts are great, but sometimes rice cakes hit the spot as a snack, haha. I like having rice cakes with my coffee too, so when I heard this place was known as a go-to for return-gift rice cakes in Cheongju, I got curious and decided to visit. Rice cakes aren't just a traditional snack anymore — they can be enjoyed like a dessert now, and this shop had exactly that vibe.

They just launched pizza seolgi — chewy seolgi (steamed rice cake) with a pizza flavor twist~

Where is Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, and what are its hours?

Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch is located at 13 Bokdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, open 09:00–21:00, with building parking available. It's near Bokdae intersection and close to Chungbuk National University, so it seemed to draw a lot of students and locals as a neighborhood rice cake shop in Gaesin-dong.

• 📍 Address: 13 Bokdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: 09:00 – 21:00
• 🅿️ Parking: Building parking available

A Cheongju rice cake shop that looks like a dessert café

Walking into Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, the first thing I noticed was how much cleaner and more dessert-café-like it felt than I expected. Passing by the storefront, the sleek signage and neatly displayed rice cakes catch your eye — hard to just walk past.

Looking around the shop, I realized this wasn't just an ordinary rice cake shop — it was really a return-gift rice cake specialist in Cheongju.

Return-gift sets at Tteokmama: baekilddeok, dolddeok and opening-day rice cakes

Since Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch gets a lot of orders for baekilddeok (100-day celebration rice cake), dolddeok (first birthday rice cake), opening-day rice cakes, and event rice cakes as return gifts in Cheongju, the shop had gift-wrapped rice cakes beautifully arranged inside.

Instead of stressing over which rice cakes to make and how much, ordering a pre-made set like this seems great for events or return gifts. Generous portions and clean packaging make it a good pick for a snack or a gift.

Visiting Tteokmama during the Chuseok rush: the one letdown

Unlike a typical rice cake shop, the bright interior, clean display cases, and pretty presentation made the rice cakes look even more delicious. The one downside: since it was Chuseok holiday season, so many pre-orders had come in that the shelves in the store had fewer rice cakes than I expected.

These days it feels like rice cakes are enjoyed more like a café dessert. Maybe that's why, among rice cake shops in Gaesin-dong, Tteokmama seemed to draw a lot of younger customers too.

Tteokmama's menu board, drinks and dessert-café feel

Here's the menu board for reference! We picked out a variety of rice cakes to pack up at Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch. Even though it's a rice cake shop, it has a range of drink options too, so it felt like a Gaesin-dong rice cake shop you could casually enjoy like a dessert café.

How did the rice cakes taste, shared with coworkers?

We shared the rice cakes we'd packed from Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch at work, and everyone raved about how good they were — soft, moist texture, chewy rice cake, and not overly sweet.

The packaging was pretty and the variety was wide too — baekil return-gift rice cakes, first-birthday return-gift rice cakes, opening-day return-gift rice cakes, event return-gift rice cakes! If you're looking for a rice cake shop in Gaesin-dong or return-gift rice cakes in Cheongju and you like rice cakes, definitely check out "Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch."