Aespa’s Karina spotlights ‘luxury’ dujjonku as dessert craze grows

Karina poses with a dessert wrapped in packaging stamped with the logo of luxury fashion house Chanel. Captured from Karina's social media

On Wednesday, Karina of aespa shared a photo on social media showing stacks of "dujjonku" — short for Dubai chewy cookie — a dessert trend that has swept Korea.

What caught fans’ attention was the logo of a European high-end fashion house stamped on the wrapper. While Karina offered no explanation in her post, she was appointed the face of the brand’s beauty line in October last year and has since appeared in several global campaigns.

It is widely assumed the cookies were provided as a promotional gift, but the post nonetheless underscores how far the dessert’s popularity has risen.

Dujjonku on display / Yonhap

Dujjonku is characterized by a crunchy texture, featuring a pistachio spread and kataifi pastry inside, with the exterior coated in marshmallow and dusted with cocoa powder.

Prices range from roughly 6,000 won ($4.50) to 10,000 won per piece, and in some neighborhoods the cookies have become what consumers describe as “waiting desserts,” requiring waiting in long lines before purchase.

The popularity of the treat is now rippling beyond cafés and bakeries, reaching upstream into ingredient markets. Pistachios — its defining component — have seen sharp price increases, adding pressure on confectionery and café operators.

According to industry sources, one major supermarket chain raised pistachio prices by around 20 percent earlier this year, citing higher raw material costs alongside a stronger won-dollar exchange rate.

International prices tell a similar story: U.S.-produced pistachio kernels are currently trading at about $12 per pound, up from roughly $8 a year ago.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.