President Lee Receives "Dujonku" as a Gift... "Is It from Dubai? Really Fascinating"

Received as a Gift from a Child in Ulsan
Shows Interest by Asking Aides about Dujonku

A scene in which President Lee Jae-myung receives the recently popular "Dubai Chewy Cookie" (Dujonku) as a gift from a child has been released.

On the 23rd, President Lee Jae-myung received a "Dubai Chewy Cookie (Dujonku)" from a child at Namchang Onggijonggi Market in Ulju-gun, Ulsan. Screenshot from President Lee Jae-myung's official YouTube channel

On the 23rd, a video titled "Do You Know Dujonku?" was released on President Lee's official YouTube channel. On this day, President Lee visited Ulsan to attend the "Listening to the Heart of Ulsan" town hall meeting. Before the meeting, President Lee made a surprise visit to Namchang Onggijonggi Market. While interacting with citizens, President Lee received a "Dujonku" as a gift from a child. After receiving the gift, President Lee shook hands with the child and put the Dujonku in his pocket.

In another video titled "The Way Home with Dujonku," President Lee is seen asking his aides about Dujonku while moving to his next schedule after finishing the town hall meeting. When President Lee asked, "Is this from Dubai?" Presidential Security Service Chief Hwang Inkwon, who was with him, replied, "It's Dubai chewy chocolate." Then, Kwon Hyukki, Chief of Protocol at the Presidential Office, explained, "The recipe is from Dubai. The filling is Dubai-style, and these days, it takes about 6 to 7 hours to buy one," adding, "It's made in Korea. It's not from Dubai, but made in Korea."

Screenshot from President Lee Jae-myung's official YouTube channel

In response, President Lee said, "I wondered why it was called Dujonku, but it really is fascinating," expressing his interest.

Meanwhile, Dubai Chewy Cookie is a dessert that reinterprets Dubai chocolate in a Korean style. It features a chewy exterior made from marshmallow dough, with kadaif noodles and pistachio spread inside, creating a contrast between the chewy outside and crispy inside. Since October last year, it has gone viral on social networking services (SNS), leading to frequent sellouts at individual cafes and bakeries.

On the 23rd, the Busan Blood Center held a promotion at 13 local blood donation houses, offering one Dujonku per person as a gift to those donating whole blood or platelets. Thanks to this event, the Seomyeon Center saw about 20 reservations each for the morning and afternoon sessions-about twice the usual number-and lines formed early in the morning as people waited to donate blood. During winter, blood donations tend to decrease due to cold waves and flu outbreaks, causing a sharp drop in blood reserves, but thanks to Dujonku, voluntary blood donations by citizens increased.

Due to Dujonku's explosive popularity, the price of imported raw materials has also soared. According to data from the Korea Customs Service analyzed by Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Ilyoung on the 22nd, the import price of pistachios per ton rose from 15 million won in January last year to about 28 million won this January, an 84% increase in one year.