Gwangju bakery café for ang-butter salt bread and chewy cookies: Sum

My friend and I went for a drive near Namhansanseong and stumbled onto "Sum," a café with delicious bread and a really pretty space! There's a lot to see nearby too, so it's a great stop if you're driving around the outskirts of Seoul — let me introduce it!

Where is Sum bakery café, and what are its hours?

• Location: 108-11 Ojeon-gil, Namhansanseong-myeon, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Parking: ground-level lot in front of the café
• Weekdays 10:00 – 20:30 (last order 20:00)
• Weekends 10:00 – 21:30 (last order 21:00)
• *Closing time is adjusted seasonally

Bread and drink menu at Sum: what does it cost?

Sum sells a wide range of drinks — various coffees, sweet lattes, ades, iced teas, smoothies, and teas.

There were so many kinds of bread — angeum mammoth bread, brioche chestnut loaf, green onion cream cheese salt bread, ang-butter (sweet red bean and butter) salt bread, almond kouign-amann, financiers, scones, pain au chocolat, cookies, and more! I visited around 3pm on a Saturday, and unfortunately a lot of the bread had already sold out, sob. I'd really recommend visiting in the morning or timing it with the baking schedule!

Weekend parking and the forest-view seats on the annex second floor

Sum has a lot of parking spots, but on the weekend I visited there were definitely a lot of cars. Still, I found a spot in a corner and parked comfortably enough.

Sum is a two-story building, with a main building connected to an annex, so there's plenty of seating. Even so... it's such a popular café that on the weekend, pretty much all the seats were taken! It's definitely in a great spot for a drive, haha.

This is the second floor of the annex. On a nice-weather day, the pretty sky and green forest view really suit the café. Honestly, after a week of work you kind of need a healing spot like this on the weekend.

With the weather so good, it was even better for sitting and chatting while enjoying the view. It's a great stop after sightseeing at Namhansanseong on the weekend, or after visiting a nearby valley to relax a bit.

How do Sum's ang-butter salt bread (5,200 won) and chewy cookie (5,000 won) taste?

The ang-butter salt bread looked so good I was already excited before tasting it! It's packed with butter and red bean paste inside 🤤

The red bean paste isn't too sweet, so it goes really well with the nutty butter. The combination of the bread's plain, savory-salty flavor with the ang-butter filling! This was one of the best ang-butter breads I've ever eaten.

My friend picked the strawberry chewy cookie! The chewy cookies I've had elsewhere sometimes had marshmallow that wasn't cooked right, so hard I felt like my teeth would break — but Sum's chewy cookie is soft and chewy at the same time, sweet enough that even adults can enjoy it easily.

My personal favorite bread! I can't quite remember the name... but it had a really nutty, subtly sweet flavor and a chewy crust — if you see this bread, definitely buy it and try it! This is especially a flavor adults will love, haha.

Iced Americano and chamomile tea, 6,500 won each

When eating bread, I prefer clean-tasting coffee or tea like Americano or chamomile tea over sweet drinks! At Sum, the Americano isn't bitter and has a nice acidity, and the chamomile tea seems to use good tea bags because it brews well and cleanses the palate nicely. If you're buying bakery items, I'd recommend these clean drinks.

Who should visit Sum near Namhansanseong?

Overall, the café atmosphere was great and there was so much variety of bread that it was fun picking one thing after another at Sum! The ang-butter salt bread I had was especially delicious, so next time I'd love to try more of the other bakery items too.

On a nice-weather day, it's great for relaxing while enjoying the pretty forest view, and it's also a good stop on a Namhansanseong drive or a nearby outing course. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good-vibe bakery café near Seoul! If you want to enjoy delicious bread and a cup of coffee near Namhansanseong, give Sum a try~!