A remarkable social media phenomenon has transformed South Korea's culinary landscape, creating widespread shortages of key baking ingredients as the nation becomes gripped by an obsession with the viral Dubai chewy cookie. Known locally as "dujjonku", this sweet sensation represents a Korean adaptation of the Dubai chocolate trend that captivated cafes last year, evolving from niche bakery item to national obsession with significant economic repercussions.
The Anatomy of a Viral Dessert
The Dubai chewy cookie represents a complex confectionary creation that begins with kataifi, a delicate threadlike Middle Eastern pastry that is fried until perfectly crisp. This forms the foundation which is then meticulously mixed into rich pistachio cream, shaped into uniform balls, and finally enveloped in a glossy marshmallow-and-cocoa coating that cools to create a distinctive chewy, rice-cake-like shell. The dessert's creator, celebrated pastry chef Kim Na Ra, revealed to the documentary series Little Big Masters that the concept emerged organically when a customer suggested incorporating Dubai chocolate-style filling into her existing marshmallow-coated chewy cookies, sparking the birth of what would become a national phenomenon.
From Bakery to National Obsession
Kim's operation has expanded dramatically to meet overwhelming demand, currently producing more than 30,000 cookies daily with approximately 50 employees, generating daily sales of roughly 130 million won (£65,044). "Many bakeries have already created their own versions in their own styles. I think the reason it became so widely loved is that we created the trend together," she explained, highlighting the collaborative nature of the craze. The cookie's journey from specialist bakeries to mainstream obsession can be precisely traced to September last year, when Jang Won Young of the immensely popular K-pop group IVE posted photographs of the treat on her social media platforms.
This single endorsement triggered an avalanche of interest, with Instagram subsequently witnessing more than 30,000 photos tagged with dujjonku. Neighborhoods renowned for their dessert cafes have experienced extraordinary scenes, with customers forming lengthy queues before opening hours to secure limited daily batches. The scale of demand has reached such intensity that one bakery distributed all 75 of its waiting tickets within mere minutes, attracting customers ranging from teenagers to retirees who arrived at least an hour before the 9am opening time. "I saw it on Reels," explained 17-year-old Jung Ha Ru as she waited in freezing conditions. "I had to see what the hype was about."
Supply Chain Disruption and Soaring Prices
The unprecedented demand has created significant supply chain challenges and dramatic price inflation for key ingredients. Supermarket chain Emart reports that between early December and late January, marshmallow sales surged by 289.2 percent, pistachio sales increased by 174.9 percent, and cocoa powder sales climbed 125.7 percent. Online retailer Gmarket experienced even more extreme growth, with marshmallow sales approximately 20 times higher than the previous month, kataifi sales quadrupling, and pistachio sales rising 1.6 times. Compared with the same period a year earlier, Gmarket's marshmallow sales were 115 times higher, while kataifi and pistachio sales increased 17-fold and 10-fold respectively.
Price tracking app Fallcent, which monitors listings on e-commerce giant Coupang, discovered that pistachio prices have more than tripled recently. A one-kilogram bag of unshelled pistachios that cost approximately 20,000 won (£10) in early December had escalated to around 80,000 won (£40) by late January, while 500 grams of kataifi nearly doubled to about 30,000 won (£15). The rush has sufficiently disrupted normal supply chains that some suppliers have reportedly begun cancelling pre-arranged transactions to resell stock elsewhere at higher prices, while other buyers have snapped up ingredients only to re-list them on second-hand platforms at substantial mark-ups. In one particularly extreme case, buyers reportedly paid premiums exceeding 100,000 won (£50) to secure a kilogram of pistachios at short notice, compared with Emart's shelf price of approximately 32,450 won (£16.2) per kilogram.
Innovative Responses to Scarcity
As bakeries struggle to maintain adequate supplies, establishments with no background in confectionery have begun adding the dessert to their menus in hopes of attracting customers. Remarkably, a sushi restaurant owner revealed that Dubai chewy cookies, rather than premium fish, had become his best-selling item, increasing revenue by 30 percent. Food delivery platforms have recorded sharp increases in searches for "Dubai chewy cookie", with Baedal Minjok documenting a more than 300 percent increase in pickup orders within a single month. Individual cookies originally sold for between 4,000 (£2) and 10,000 (£5) won are now listed at up to 12,000 won (£6) on delivery applications.
The scarcity has inspired remarkable technological innovation, with one programmer developing a real-time stock map showing which cafes still had cookies available. "Checking stock by calling stores or visiting their Instagram pages was cumbersome," he explained to The Chosun Daily. "I thought a map showing stock at a glance would be convenient, so I developed it myself." His motivation emerged from personal experience struggling to purchase dujjonku for his girlfriend.
Major Brands Capitalise on Trend
Major corporations have moved decisively to capitalise on the phenomenon. Starbucks Korea launched a "Dubai chewy roll" at six Seoul locations, selling just 40 per store daily and limiting purchases to two per customer. Extraordinary queues formed before 7am in temperatures approaching -10°C, prompting some branches to establish rear-entrance waiting areas and provide live stock updates. Ediya Coffee, Gong Cha, Baskin-Robbins, Paris Baguette and convenience store chains CU and GS25 have all released their own interpretations, ranging from tarts and mochi to chewy rice cakes.
CU alone has sold more than 1.8 million units of its Dubai-style chewy rice cake since October, while their Dubai Style Towel Cake sold out its initial 40,000 pieces upon introduction in January, with a subsequent 21,000 pre-orders also completely exhausted. The trend has even influenced charitable initiatives, with the Korean Red Cross offering Dubai chewy cookies as incentives for blood donors during winter shortages. Several donation centres reported that contributions doubled or even tripled as a direct result.
Consumer Creativity and Psychological Drivers
As prices for both finished cookies and their ingredients escalate amid growing scarcity, consumers have demonstrated remarkable creativity. One YouTube tutorial demonstrating how to replace kataifi with soybean noodles has attracted more than 4 million views, with the creator assuring viewers they can achieve similar texture at a fraction of the cost. Others have adapted mass-market snacks like Choco Pie, adding pistachio cream and freezing them to mimic the distinctive texture.
Psychologist Kwak Geum Hee of Seoul National University attributes the rush to powerful fear of missing out dynamics. "Young people especially worry: 'Everyone knows about this. How can I not?'" she explained. "It becomes about belonging." However, Inha University's consumer studies professor Lee Eun Hee offers a more positive interpretation: "Koreans have an exceptionally strong bandwagon effect. When people gather somewhere, we instinctively join. There's competitive energy, a desire to participate. It's not necessarily negative – it creates economic dynamism."
South Korea has experienced numerous food trends previously, from honey butter chips to tanghulu, but the fervour surrounding Dubai chewy cookies demonstrates unprecedented intensity and economic impact. As supply chains continue to strain under extraordinary demand, this social media-driven phenomenon shows little sign of diminishing, reshaping consumer behavior, inspiring innovation, and creating both challenges and opportunities across multiple sectors of the Korean economy.
