Sweet Stop in Gangnam: Visiting Shinsegae’s Sweet Park on Your Seoul Trip

 Hi, Friends!👋

Today I checked out Sweet Park at Shinsegae Department Store in Gangnam, near the Express Bus Terminal. It’s my go-to when I want a special gift or a unique dessert. Thinking about it, it’s actually a fun stop for friends visiting Seoul, too.

From Express Bus Terminal Station, head toward Exit 7 and take the Central Terminal exit—you’ll see the entrance to Shinsegae Department Store. Go in and walk a bit, then just follow the signs for Sweet Park. 🎂🎂

Once you step into Sweet Park, you’ll see Fortnum & Mason—Britain’s classic tea brand—on the right. Straight ahead are Kitchen 205 and Shotô, both famous for strawberry cakes, and there’s also a brand selling gorgeous fruit tarts.

Further in, there’s a dessert shop that sells all kinds of butter bars—including the ones supplied to Starbucks Korea—and Standard Bread, a loaf brand that also has a branch in Apgujeong Rodeo. With the Dubai chewy cookie trend, that style of loaf has gotten super popular, too. 😍😍

You might look at all this and think, “Isn’t this pretty common in Europe?” Fair point. So if you’re after something more Korean, there are spots that sell traditional treats like yakgwa, sweet red bean bread, and yanggaeng. I usually pick up classy gifts for older folks from places like these.

 

I saw a long line and got curious—turns out they were selling “Dubai egg tarts.” It looked like they baked the tarts with a pistachio spread on top, probably thanks to the Dubai chewy cookie craze. The line next to it was for strawberry chapssaltteok. I’m the same, but Koreans really do love that chewy texture. 😅😅

And there are sweet donuts, plus fruit sandwiches and cakes that look gorgeous even at a glance.

This spot with the colorful saekdong decorations is a fruit chapssaltteok shop, and the packaging color changes depending on the fruit. The line here was super long, too. Funny enough, the cheesecake place CHEFFLE—famous for its cheesecakes—didn’t have a line. 🍰🍰

If you want to take home something uniquely Korean, BuChang Confectionery’s hodu gwaja (walnut pastries), oranda (caramelized puffed grain snacks), and Taegukdang’s manju are great picks. Koreans see these as kind of retro, but my friends from other countries find them unique and really like them.

And of course, you can’t skip the basics—chocolate. The famous French brand Pierre Marcolini has a store here, and it’s really popular with locals, too. There’s also a separate shop for a premium Seoul-based chocolate brand.

Some shops at Sweet Park are permanent, but there are also pop-ups that show up for a short time. The day I went, there was a Korean bagel brand with an American vibe. The tomato-shaped bagel and the croissant roll filled with pistachio spread were pretty unique. 👄👄

If you’re like me and love bread and desserts, this place is basically heaven. The prices aren’t cheap, so you might be surprised once you grab a few things—but it’s still a joy to just look around. If you’re visiting Seoul, drop by for some fun. Just a tip: weekends get packed with locals, so I recommend coming on a weekday daytime. 😜