Oh crumbs! South Korea weighs new sugar tax amid craze over Dubai chewy cookie

SEOUL – No crumbs are being left behind in South Korea’s

latest craze over the Dubai chewy cookie

– a treat that did not even originate in the city it is named after.

It is not even really a cookie, but a marshmallow dough ball with a filling of pistachio and kadaif, a thread-like Middle Eastern pastry made from flour, corn starch and salt. The chewy ball is then dusted with cocoa powder.

But the country has gone crazy over the dessert ever since K-pop star Jang Won-young of girl band IVE declared her love for the sweet snack on social media in September 2025.

The confectionery is said to have originated in a small bakery called Montcookie, located in the southern city of Jinju, riding on the earlier 2024

craze over Dubai chocolate

, which did originate in Dubai. 

The dessert is now selling like, well, hot cakes across the country, with South Koreans staging “open runs” – a popular term for customers who literally sprint to stores the moment they open to secure in-demand items before they sell out.

Demand is so high and supply so short that a “Dubai Cookie Map” was rolled out by an online payment gateway company to help consumers track down stocks of the dessert.

Prices for pistachios and kadaif ingredients have also shot up, pushing the selling price of the dessert to range from 5,000 won (S$4.40) to 10,000 won a piece.

The South Korean Red Cross has even used the snack as a sweetener to boost attendance at its

recent blood donation drives

across the country.

The phenomenon has since also made its way to Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

But now, the treat is setting off alarm bells over its high sugar and fat levels.

Health experts in South Korea have warned that the two-bite dessert

packs a hefty caloric punch

, with each cookie estimated to have as many as 500 calories – the equivalent of two bowls of rice.

The warnings came amid a proposal by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for a sugar tax on food and beverages with excessive sugar content to reduce the country’s sugar intake. The tax revenue collected may be used to bolster public healthcare funding.

In a post on social media platform X on Jan 28, Mr Lee shared the results of a survey which showed that at least 70 per cent of South Koreans support a tax on companies that use excessive sugar in their products, as well as separate levies on soft drinks, confectionery, bread and rice cakes.

He wrote: “Just like cigarettes, we could curb the use of sugar through a levy on sugar and reinvest this revenue to strengthen regional and public healthcare... What do you think?”

Mr Lee was referring to the country’s tobacco levies, which are channelled to support anti-smoking campaigns as well as a range of public health initiatives.

South Koreans’ daily sugar intake averages 60g, which is more than double the World Health Organisation’s recommended limit of 25g.

In Singapore, the average daily sugar intake fell from 60g in 2018 to 56g in 2022 after the launch of the

Nutri-Grade labelling system

for pre-packaged drinks in late 2022 to help consumers make informed choices based on drinks’ sugar level.

In 2021, South Korea tried to push for a Bill to impose tiered taxes starting from 1,000 won for 1kg or less of sugar per 100 litres of beverage, but the Bill eventually failed to make it to Parliament.

A Blue House official told local media that the presidential office plans to seek opinions from various sectors about the possible sugar levy before proceeding with the next steps. 

But while the sugar tax idea simmers, the chocolate-pistachio-kadaif combination, with its vivid brown-green visual contrast, continues to inspire ever more inventive offshoots, from cocktails to floral arrangements to manicure designs.

Apart from social media fuelling the frenzy, a South Korean friend tells me that the juxtaposition of chewiness with creamy and crunchy textures appeals to the South Korean palate, which is likely what led to the dessert’s meteoric rise in popularity. The sudden craze is also not surprising to her.

“We are like yangeun naembi,” she said, referring to the lightweight aluminium pots commonly used in South Korea to cook instant noodles and soups. “We are quick to heat up and equally fast to cool down.” 

Consumer science professor Lee Eun-hee of Seoul’s Inha University tells The Straits Times that it boils down to South Korea’s competitive society.

“The sense of ‘I have to do what others are doing’ bandwagon effect is exceptionally strong in our country, so this tends to lead to very rapid rise in popularity over certain items,” she said.

Other food items that had gone viral and since faded in popularity include tanghulu or candied fruit on a stick, salt butter rolls

and macarons

.

But Prof Lee believes that the Dubai chewy cookie could outlast other fads, driven by a steady stream of creative spin-offs.

“The nature of social media trends is that they are fuelled by constant innovation, emergence of new things. Once boredom sets in, which can happen quickly, then people will start looking for the next new thing,” said Prof Lee. 

The fun is often in the hunt. I managed to get my hands on the cookie twice without having to queue as I was early enough. While the success was sweet, the snack was sweeter still, and I cannot bring myself to eat it again.

As with all trends, hype often precedes substance. So just bring on the next one, please.