When Koreans visit Daejeon, they always stop by Sungsimdang to buy bread before heading back home. Sungsimdang is a famous spot in Daejeon. The prices are reasonable and the taste is really delicious!
The photo above shows the entrance to Sungsimdang's main branch in Daejeon, with the name written in Chinese characters. It seems that the bakery first opened in 1956.
It only takes about 1 hour by KTX from Seoul Station to Daejeon, so if you have a chance to visit Daejeon, be sure to try Sungsimdang's bread!
Sungsimdang's signature items are Fried Soboro and Buchu Bread.
"Buchu" means "Chives".
Fried Soboro, a fried pastry with sweet red bean filling inside, is especially delicious.
The photo above shows Buchu Bread, which contains chives inside. Koreans love chives, but it's not common to find them inside bread. However, Sungsimdang uniquely incorporates chives into their bread, and it's incredibly popular.
These two items are so popular that there's a separate line just for purchasing them.
Here are popular breads from Seongsimdang in 2024. They picked from the breads excluding Fried Soboro and Buchu Bread.
Sungsimdang is exclusive to Daejeon and is so successful that it has multiple locations throughout the city.
For specific locations, please refer to the Google Maps below.
Sungsimdang Bakery Head Store : https://maps.app.goo.gl/Sp66ZHacU58WLu3P7
Sungsimdang Bakery Daejeon Station Branch : https://maps.app.goo.gl/aEa1mjn7TD7zYsJQA
Sungsimdang Lotte Daejeon Branch : https://maps.app.goo.gl/dQqSeMqdQFX3VPKF8
Sungsimdang DCC Branch : https://maps.app.goo.gl/kqcgTN7C4d3kN9vz8
Koreans passing through Daejeon often take the KTX from Daejeon Station, making Sungsimdang Daejeon Station Branch extremely popular. The branch has been open for almost five years now and needs to renegotiate its lease with KORAIL, the company operating the KTX.
According to KORAIL's policy, they demanded 17% of the revenue as rent. However, with monthly sales amounting to 2.6 billion won(almost 1,881,331 USD), this equates to around 440 million won(about 318,379 USD) in rent. Sungsimdang's stance is that they cannot afford such high rent, and this issue has become a major topic in Korea due to the exorbitant rental demand. While a resolution has yet to be reached, being a public entity, KORAIL Distribution may not be able to push their demands unchecked. There's still no final decision, but they are seeking opinions from relevant authorities on the matter.