‘Couque Dasse’ means ‘cookies from the Asse region’ in Belgium, which are known to have been thrown to the people of Brussels by Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, during his entry into the capital. He was German and of the opposition party, which forced him to flee to the United Kingdom. He later became the first king of the newly independent Kingdom of Belgium. Leopold I, on his way from the United Kingdom to Belgium, arrived at Ostend, a major port in the northwest. During his advance into Brussels, he passed through the Asse region and met a crowd of welcoming Belgians, to which he responded by tossing cookies for them to eat. Though our Couque D’Asse may be somewhat different from what Leopold I shared with his people, this is where the name originated.

With its beautiful features, such as the deep blue sea, dazzling waves, and verdant grass, the Lighthouse Island of Somaemul-do is lovingly called the ‘Naples of the Far East’. Situated in the city of Tongyoung, ‘The Land of the Sea’, in Gyeongsangsam-do, the Lighthouse Island of Somaemul-do gained a sudden surge of popularity following the two Couque D’Asse TV commercials filmed on this beautiful island in 1986 and 1989, which gave it a nickname ‘Couque D’Asse Island’.
On the strength of this connection, Crown entered into an MOU from 2010 to March 2016 with the Eastern Branch of the Hallyeohaesang National Park. It gave us a number of opportunities to support the preservation efforts of the National Park and some charitable efforts for the socially disadvantaged. We also conducted Clean Campaigns for Somaemul-do over 25 times from December 2009 to March 2014.

Somaemul-do is a part of the Maemul-do, which can be reached in one hour and 40 minutes on a boat from the Tongyoung Port, in the southeast. The other parts of the Maemul-do is Daemaemul-do and the Lighthouse Island, which can be accessed on foot during the low tide.

Couque D’Asse began in 1986 as a classic soft biscuit and has kept its unique place in the market that has not been met by any competition from a similar product. Couque D’Asse has always been very popular as a premium cookie product with its soft texture that melts while breaking gently in the mouth. The year 2015 saw an attempt to shift its classic image into a more modern one with the concept of mélange, a French word meaning ‘blend’, or ‘mix’. The existing ‘White’ cookies had mascarpone cheese added to become a new variation called ‘White Torte’ while the ‘Coffee Slim’ went through a re-birth as ‘Viennese Coffee’ as it adopted pure Columbian Arabica coffee beans as its flavor ingredient instead of instant coffee.