9 bakeries worth the trip across South Korea, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All South Korea guides.
Tartine Bakery Seoul (Hannam) ★ 4.7 · Seoul
Itaewon and Hannam · 22 Hannam-daero 18-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
The Seoul outpost of Chad Robertson's San Francisco bakery, in Hannam-dong since 2018, quickly setting the standard for open-crumb sourdough in Korea.
Fritz Bakery (Dohwa) ★ 4.6 · Seoul
Hongdae and Yeonnam · 17 Saechang-ro 2-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Fritz operates its bakery counter from the same Dohwa building as the roastery, and the baked goods match the coffee programme in seriousness.
Artist Bakery Anguk ★ 4.5 · Seoul
Bukchon and Samcheong · 45 Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Artist Bakery is the salt-bread sister project to London Bagel Museum, set in a restored hanok off Yulgok-ro with more than 20 versions of the viral salt butter loaf, from plain to truffle pretzel and basil pesto.
Weirdough ★ 4.5 · Seoul
Seongsu and Dongdaemun · 32-7 Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Weirdough in Seongsu is a small-batch vegan bakery renowned for seaweed sourdough and plant-based pastries, rated 5.0 on HappyCow across 28 reviews.
Ma Pause ★ 4.5 · Seoul
Hongdae and Yeonnam · 33-1 Hongik-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Ma Pause in Hongdae is a French-trained baker's response to Seoul's generic patisserie scene, producing black sesame canele and laminated pastries.
Passion5 ★ 4.4 · Seoul
Itaewon and Hannam · 272 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Passion5 is the patisserie arm of Paris Baguette's parent company SPC, but it operates on an entirely different level from the parent chain.
For Four Bread ★ 4.4 · Seoul
Hongdae and Yeonnam · 12 Wausan-ro 29-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
For Four Bread in Hongdae specialises in dairy-free and egg-free Korean bakery classics, with vegan tangzhong milk bread that rivals any conventional version.
Cafe Onion Bakery (Seongsu) ★ 4.3 · Seoul
Seongsu and Dongdaemun · 8 Achasan-ro 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Cafe Onion's Seongsu warehouse space runs a bakery counter with honey butter thick-cut toast that draws a pre-opening queue on weekend mornings.
Paris Baguette (Gwanghwamun) ★ 3.7 · Seoul
Jongno and Insadong · 58 Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Paris Baguette is the ubiquitous Korean bakery chain that appears on every high street, but the Gwanghwamun branch is the right flagship to experience.