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Butter tteok is emerging as the next viral dessert, following the Dujonku craze (a chewy Dubai cookie).
Butter tteok traces its origins to Shanghai’s traditional huangyao nian gao. The dough combines glutinous rice flour and tapioca starch, then milk and butter are added before baking—resulting in a crunchy exterior and a satisfyingly chewy center.
The trend has exploded on social media. As of March 16, Instagram posts tagged #buttertteok topped roughly 14,000.
Search data backs up the buzz. Keyword analysis platform BlackKiwi reports that Naver integrated searches for butter tteok totaled about 739,000 over the past month (Feb. 14–Mar. 15). As of March 15, March’s cumulative search volume hit 5,760,000—about 157 times February’s total of 36,600.
Google Trends shows a similar pattern: interest rose in early March and peaked at 100 on March 14.
The surge in demand has created lines at some cafés, and a few shops have limited purchases per customer. As of March 16, butter tteok was also the No. 1 search term on several delivery apps for several days running.
Food companies are racing to introduce their own takes on the trend.
Ediya Coffee rolled out Condensed Milk–Topped Butter Chewy Mochi at the end of last month. It was the top-selling dessert in the week after its launch (Feb. 26–Mar. 4), and sales have climbed more than 300% compared with its initial release—leading to sellouts at some locations.
Convenience store chain CU moved fast, too, launching a Salt Butter Tteok made with natural butter for a rich, chewy texture. CU plans to add a Shanghai‑style Butter Mochi to shelves on March 24.
SPC Group’s bakery brand Fashion Five introduced a Butter Chewy Tteok on March 13, made with the French premium butter Échiré.
Food trends are shifting quickly. The Dujonku craze that sparked sellouts earlier this year peaked in January and has steadily cooled—Google Trends showed interest at 100 on Jan. 17, dropping to 15 by March 15.
From Dujonku to spring cabbage bibimbap to butter tteok, these food fads cycle rapidly, and social media–driven dessert trends are reshaping the landscape at a breakneck pace.
Reporter Minju Kim minjoo@hankyung.com
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