Gyeongju walnut pastry shop in a tiled-roof house: Buja Hodu

Last weekend I went down to visit my parents for the first time in a while, and I wanted to bring them a nice dessert gift, so I stopped by Buja Hodu, a dessert spot near Hwangnidan-gil in Gyeongju, and picked up some delicious walnut pastries (hodu-gwaja) to share with the family. Unlike the walnut pastries sold on the street, these were absolutely packed with walnuts.

Where is Buja Hodu, and what are its hours?

• 🏁 Location: 38 Poseok-ro 1095beon-gil, B-dong 105-ho, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
• ⏰️ Hours: Daily 09:30–20:00
• 🅿️ Parking: Nearby public parking lot

Buja Hodu, a dessert and walnut pastry spot in Gyeongju near Hwangnidan-gil, is located across from Korea Semiconductor Meister High School.

The tiled-roof house exterior and the holiday gift sets

Buja Hodu, a walnut pastry spot in Gyeongju, is housed in a stylish hanok (traditional Korean tile-roofed house).

For Chuseok (Korean harvest festival), Buja Hodu opened a holiday gift set, and the walnut pastry gift sets can be wrapped in bojagi (traditional wrapping cloth) for the occasion.

There's a spot out front where you can sit and enjoy coffee and walnut pastries.

What Buja Hodu looks like inside

In front of the ordering counter are round, freshly made walnut pastries, and

a sample of the holiday gift set. If you order the holiday gift set, the walnut pastry box comes wrapped in a pretty bojagi — it looked like such a nice gift to give.

Buja Hodu's menu and what goes in the 24-piece mix box

The menu offers both instant packaging and box packaging. There are four flavors: low-sugar red bean, pea cream cheese, matcha, and almond praline (limited to 50 a day). You can go all red bean, or mix red bean with other flavors. I went with the 24-piece mix box — 12 red bean + 6 pea cream cheese + 6 matcha!!

We got there around 4pm on a Saturday, and just in case, I asked if they had almond praline — turns out they sell out of it every morning. Haha, now I want to try it even more since I couldn't.

Unlike your average walnut pastry shop, Buja Hodu's walnut pastries pack in one whole walnut each, and they use domestic rice dough that's easy to digest along with a low-sugar filling.

They said if you write a receipt review, you get 2 walnut pastries or 1 americano — write your receipt review and pair the pastries with an americano for the perfect combo, haha.

I was curious what the inside of the walnut pastry box looked like, so I asked the owner, and he showed me himself, explaining each piece one by one. He was so kind that it made me really happy.

Also, Buja Hodu ships by courier and takes orders through Smart Store, so if you want to try it, order through their Smart Store~~

I got my Buja Hodu box and took a photo out front.

How the walnut pastries tasted with my parents at home

Drumroll. One more photo before digging in with my parents back home.

From the outside, they didn't look all that different from regular walnut pastries, but one bite in and my mouth was full of walnut. And since the red bean filling is low-sugar, it wasn't too sweet, which my parents really loved.

The red bean, pea cream cheese, and matcha were all delicious, and I especially liked that the low-sugar filling wasn't overly sweet. Unlike typical walnut pastries, each one is packed with a whole walnut, so you get that walnut flavor the whole way through. My parents said it was so good, and that made me really happy too.

If you're heading home to your parents this Chuseok, pick up a walnut pastry gift set from Buja Hodu. It'll be right up your parents' alley!!