Sungsimdang is Daejeon’s most famous bakery, and no trip to the city is complete without it — but the queues are no joke, sometimes stretching for blocks. Here’s a local tip: right across the street from the main branch is Yenmatsomssi (성심당 옛맛솜씨), where you can pick up sungsimdang traditional sweets in daejeon — yakgwa, manju, rice cakes and more — often without the brutal wait. It’s where I go for gifts to bring home, and for the traditional sweets you won’t find at the main bakery.
Getting there
Yenmatsomssi sits directly across from the main Sungsimdang branch, so if you can find one, you’ve found the other.
- From Daejeon Station: about a 15-minute walk (roughly 900m).
- Address: 14 Daejong-ro 480beon-gil, Jung-gu, Daejeon. (Google Maps)
Hours: 9:30–21:00 daily. Cards are accepted, and the ordering kiosk supports English, Chinese and Japanese. For full menu details, Naver Map is your best reference.
A gift shop for traditional sweets
If you’ve ever wanted to bring home something more distinctly Korean than a box of pastries, this is the place. Everything is packaged neatly, which makes it ideal for gifts — for older relatives especially, these traditional sweets are a perfect fit.
The best part is that Yenmatsomssi carries items you can’t get at the main Sungsimdang branch. A few things worth your attention:
Manju (만주) — soft buns packed with sweet bean paste. They come in several flavors — chestnut, black sesame, citron, pumpkin, sweet potato and more. The chestnut manju is a standout: not too sweet, with a deep, rich filling.
Rice cakes (떡) — big, chewy glutinous rice cakes stuffed generously with bean paste, with chunky walnut pieces for texture. Original, prickly-pear, black sesame and mugwort flavors. Again, not overly sweet, which is exactly why they’re so more-ish.
Two kinds of yakgwa
Yakgwa is a traditional Korean honey-glazed cookie — deep-fried, then soaked in honey and grain syrup. If you want the full background, our hub explains what exactly yakgwa is.
What’s interesting here is that Yenmatsomssi sells it in two forms: the familiar flower-shaped yakgwa you’ll recognize from shops everywhere, and a square, palace-style yakgwa (궁중약과). The version I tried was moist rather than dense, and on the restrained side for sweetness — genuinely well suited to older palates, which makes it another good gift pick.
More traditional sweets to browse
Jeonbyeong (전병) — thin, flat rice crackers (not rolled up) in flavors like laver, black sesame and black bean. The kind of snack that gets nuttier and more savory the longer you chew.
Hangwa (한과) — an assortment of Korean traditional confectionery, sold by the basket.
Glutinous-rice tart — one of several bakery items built on traditional ingredients; the chewy rice filling makes it a nice change from an ordinary tart.
Sikhye (식혜) — a sweet Korean rice drink, kept chilled in the fridge and perfect for cooling down after walking the Sungsimdang crowds.
Yanggaeng (양갱) — a firm, jelly-like sweet made from bean paste; the chestnut yanggaeng comes in a tidy gift set.
Don’t skip the bingsu
Beyond the sweets, Yenmatsomssi is known for its bingsu (shaved ice) — a genuinely good reason to sit down for a while. The flavors lean into the shop’s traditional character and change with the season, but the lineup often includes:
- Korean black sesame bingsu (한국 흑깨빙수) — around ₩12,000
- Nonsan bingsu (논산빙수) with misutgaru (roasted grain powder) — around ₩10,000
- Bomunsan matcha bingsu (보문산빙수) topped with yakgwa and sujeonggwa jelly — around ₩10,000
- Steamed pumpkin bingsu (호박빙수) — around ₩10,000
The matcha one is a neat full-circle: it’s crowned with Yenmatsomssi’s own yakgwa. Because flavors rotate seasonally, check Naver Map for what’s on right now.
Good to know
- Hours: 9:30–21:00 daily
- Payment: cards accepted
- Kiosk languages: English, Chinese, Japanese (full menu info on Naver Map)
- Prices: gift sets generally run around ₩20,000–30,000; individual sweets around ₩1,000–2,000
- Seasonal items rotate (bingsu in warm months, warm red-bean porridge in winter), so the exact lineup shifts through the year.
Verdict
If Sungsimdang’s line is more than you bargained for — or you simply want something more traditional than bread — Yenmatsomssi across the street is the answer. Rice cakes, manju, two kinds of yakgwa and neatly boxed gift sets you can’t get at the main branch, plus a bowl of seasonal bingsu to catch your breath. It’s an easy, rewarding stop whenever you’re in Daejeon for Sungsimdang. Pair it with our guide to what to buy at the main Sungsimdang branch, or fit it into a full Daejeon day trip from Seoul.
