Sungsimdang, Korea’s most famous bakery, has one problem for first-timers: too much choice. Fried breads have their own line, and everything else — sandwich loaves, health breads, sweet pastries, cakes, even rice balls — is jumbled together until your eyes glaze over. So here’s how a local narrows down the best Sungsimdang bread, cross-checked three ways: the bakery’s official Hall of Fame, the staff’s own picks, and my personal top three. Buy where these overlap and you can’t go wrong.
First, get your bearings
Sungsimdang bread is organized by type, and the two icons — tuigim soboro (fried streusel bun) and buchu-ppang (chive bread) — have their own dedicated sales points or queues, separate from the main floor. Everything else you gather onto a tray as you go. (Note: the famous siru cakes are a separate world — I’ve covered those in my siru guide.)
One reassuring thing about loading up a tray here: Sungsimdang’s prices are gentle, so a haul of several breads costs noticeably less than it would at most bakeries. You can afford to be curious.
When the sheer volume freezes you, do what locals do: start with the Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame (Sungsimdang’s official best-sellers)
Every year Sungsimdang publishes a Hall of Fame — the breads that sold the most over the past year. It’s the single best shortcut for a first visit, because anything on it has essentially been vetted by thousands of customers.
The 2025 Hall of Fame list:
- Whole-wheat bread (stone-milled)
- Pie-manju
- Jambon-beurre (ham-and-butter baguette)
- Cream cheese white bun
- Toyo-ppang
- Old-style simjeon-byeong (peanut)
- Pain au lait
- Hwasso bread
- Curry croquette
Several of these are long-running regulars — Toyo-ppang and jambon-beurre show up year after year — while the cream cheese white bun is a newer arrival worth trying.
The staff picks (the insider list)
Alongside the Hall of Fame, Sungsimdang posts a staff-recommended list — the “known only to insiders” picks, which is exactly why they’re fun to hunt down. The 2025 staff picks:
- Tornado ssook danjjak
- Pandoro
- Creamy tuiso (a cream-filled take on the fried soboro)
- Stollen
If you want to eat like someone who works there, grab one or two of these on top of the classics.
My personal top 3
Having worked through most of the menu over the years (my sibling lives in Daejeon, so I was a regular long before the lines), these are the three I always come back to:
1. Jageun Meari — Most people know the bigger Bomunsan Meari, but I always reach for the “small” one. The layers are thinner and crispier — it even sounds different when you bite it — and the syrup soaks in better, so the sweetness is sharper. If the regular Meari is on the moist side, Jageun Meari is firmly in the crispy-and-sweet camp.
2. Walnut bread — Generously loaded with walnuts, so one slice leaves a lasting nuttiness. Not too sweet, perfect with coffee, and the one my parents love when I bring it home.
3. Tuigim soboro — Obvious, yes, but long-loved things are long-loved for a reason. Crisp outside, soft sweet red bean inside; I worried it’d be greasy and was surprised how clean it tastes. Eat one warm, fresh out of the oven, and you’ll understand why it’s on every Sungsimdang list ever written.
A note on sandwiches (the layout changed)
If you’re after Sungsimdang’s jambon-beurre or other sandwiches, note a recent change: they’re no longer sold on the main floor. Sandwiches now have their own counter — the “Sandwich Station” in the basement of the main store (Google Maps), open 8am–8pm daily.
There’s a hidden upside here: reviews report the Sandwich Station line is short around midday on weekdays. So if the main-store queue looks daunting, heading straight down to the Sandwich Station first can be a smart way in.
So what should you actually buy?
If you’re standing there overwhelmed: grab a tuigim soboro (warm), a Jageun Meari, and a walnut bread — that’s the safe, local-approved core. Add a jambon-beurre from the Sandwich Station if you want something savory, and one staff pick for adventure. That tray will not disappoint. That tray will not disappoint. And if you’d rather eat it warm than carry it home, the Sungsimdang cafe two minutes away is where to sit down with it.
Getting there
- Sungsimdang Main Store: 15 Daejong-ro 480beon-gil, Jung-gu, Daejeon — near Jungangno Station (Google Maps)
- Hours: 8am–10pm daily (Sandwich Station, basement: 8am–8pm)
- Go on a weekday if you possibly can. Weekend lines are genuinely long; weekdays are far more manageable. The line looks long but moves fast either way, and watching the factory-like pace of baking is half the fun.
- Coming from Seoul? It’s about an hour by KTX — see my Daejeon day trip guide for train details and what else to eat while you’re there.
Verdict
Sungsimdang’s overwhelming selection is the whole charm — but you don’t have to decode it alone. Between the Hall of Fame, the staff picks, and a local’s top three, the overlap is clear: warm tuigim soboro, crispy Jageun Meari, nutty walnut bread. Short on time? The Daejeon Station branch stocks most of the hits with a faster line. Come on a weekday, grab a tray, and sweep like the locals do.
