Facebook (Starbucks Korea)

Starbucks Korea just confirmed what every trend-watcher in Seoul already felt in their bones: the “Dubai chewy cookie”—nicknamed Doojjonku (short for Dubai Chewy Cookie)—has officially graduated from local bakery flex to big-brand takeover. 

Starting January 30, Starbucks will sell a “Dubai Chewy Roll” in only six stores, with a strict limit of two per person—the kind of rules that don’t calm hype, but practically season it.

Not just a dessert—this is a participation sport

Korea has a special talent for turning “buying a snack” into “joining a moment.” When a trendy dessert meets the franchise playbook—limited locations, limited quantities, in-person ordering—the result is predictable: lines move from indie bakeries to global chains, and the line itself becomes part of the product.

Celebrity chef Jung Ho-young Instagram

A celebrity-chef “I tried it” post? That’s basically rocket fuel

The craze didn’t spread on flavor alone—it spread on proof. Celebrity chef Jung Ho-young posted his own “I tried it” shot and called it the perfect pick-me-up when your energy crashes. In Korea’s trend ecosystem, one well-timed 인증샷 (proof photo) doesn’t just endorse a dessert—it lights the match.

“It keeps popping into my head”—the anatomy of a Korean-style obsession

A university student in her 20s described it with the most dangerous compliment a snack can receive: “I keep craving it.” That’s the whole spell right there—sweetness + nuttiness + dramatic texture contrast.

And here’s the twist: despite the “cookie” label, Doojjonku’s selling point is a texture Koreans already adore—that chewy, springy bite associated with tteok (Korean rice cakes). In one mouthful you get crisp kataifi (shredded pastry), rich pistachio cream, and sticky-sweet marshmallow, creating a “chewy outside, crisp inside” clash that’s basically engineered for repeat cravings—and for those glossy short-form cross-section videos.

Image showing the Doojjonku craze (internet screenshot) 

When even restaurants start making it, you know it’s gone nationwide

Most dessert trends live and die in cafés or bakeries. Not this one. The Doojjonku wave has gotten so intense that even non-dessert restaurants are reportedly jumping in with a “customers keep asking, so we’re making it” attitude. And in a tough economy, the internet is already circulating memes and illustrations about small business owners riding the hype just to stay afloat—equal parts funny and painfully real.

The “sweet cost” of a snack that wants to become your daily habit

There’s a reason people call it an “energy booster.” The structure of this dessert naturally trends high sugar, high calories—pistachio can look wholesome, but once it’s combined with chocolate/cream/marshmallow-style sweetness, blood sugar isn’t exactly whispering. The real risk isn’t one treat; it’s when “once in a while” quietly becomes “every day with coffee.”

What Doojjonku reveals about Korea right now

This isn’t only about dessert—it’s about how trends work in Korea. When big dreams like owning a house or car feel farther away, small luxuries shine brighter. Add Korea’s famously fast trend cycle—quick ignition, faster spread—and you get a perfect storm: personal cravings amplified by short-form media, boosted by celebrity proof shots, scaled by big brands using scarcity marketing, and then copied everywhere until the trend becomes a social phenomenon.

A consumer-trend analyst summed it up bluntly: this is the classic Korean combo of “small luxury” + “scarcity marketing.” And if the big players have entered, the clock is ticking—the next six months will decide whether this is a passing frenzy or a new permanent dessert category.