The Dubai Chewy Cookie: Korea's Viral Dessert Craze, Explained

Few desserts have moved through Korea as fast as the Dubai chewy cookie. Known as dujjonku, it grew out of the Dubai chocolate wave and became a social media obsession that sparked long lines, sold-out cafes, and a pistachio shortage of sorts. Here is what it is and why it took over.

The name blends "Dubai" with the Korean words for chewy (jjonduk) and cookie. Despite the name, it is not baked. A filling of pistachio cream and kataifi, a shredded pastry, is shaped into rounds and wrapped in a soft marshmallow shell mixed with cocoa powder. The result is closer to a chewy rice cake than a classic cookie, with a crunchy, nutty center.

The Dubai chocolate craze reached Korea in 2024, and local bakers began reworking it. The chewy cookie started gaining buzz on social media in late 2024, then exploded from late 2025 into January 2026. Short videos of the cut-open cookie, showing the bright green filling, did the rest.

Demand was intense. Cafes reported queues forming before sunrise and stock disappearing within minutes. Convenience store chains launched their own Dubai-style desserts, and even restaurants with no bakery background sold the cookie as a promotion on delivery apps. Prices of 4,000 to 10,000 won per piece were common, and some listings climbed higher.

The rush hit ingredient costs hard. Reports said a kilogram of unshelled pistachios jumped from around 20,000 won to roughly 80,000 won within weeks, and kataifi prices nearly doubled as well. It is a clear case of how a single dessert can ripple through the supply chain.

By mid-January 2026, searches for the cookie on Naver had already begun to drop, and Korean media described the hype as cooling. That arc is typical of Korea's dessert crazes, which burn bright and then make room for the next one. For more of them, see our look at K-dessert crazes and the earlier butter-baked rice cake trend.