Mapo bakery for Han River picnic sandwiches: Boulangerie Copain

A bakery for takeout bread on the way to Mangwon Hangang Park

When I think of Mangwon-dong, bread is the first thing that comes to mind—I’m such a bread lover. Today, I visited Boulangerie Copain, a must-stop on a Mangwon bread crawl.

Getting there

The shop is on the route from Exit 2 of Mangwon Station toward Mangwon Hangang Park, about a 15-minute walk away. It is perfectly located for picking up bread and taking it to the riverside park for a picnic.

Boulangerie Copain was featured on Master of Living, in its croissant and baguette master episode. They say the owner, a baker from an S-class luxury hotel, makes authentic European-style bread using those skills. Rather than flashy loaves, this is a place where understated bread you can comfortably enjoy as a meal takes center stage.

There is also a discount event after 19:00 every day, with up to 30% off depending on how much you spend, haha. Mangwon-dong locals must love that.

Trays, parchment paper, and tongs are set out to the right of the entrance. Grab them, and let’s properly look at the bread—

Boulangerie Copain bread selection

First up was the refrigerated section. There were dessert items such as chocolate banana pudding, palmier carré, and castella cream bread, plus things to enjoy with bread, including jam and cream cheese.

They also sell extra-virgin balsamic olive oil.

Lemon cake and two kinds of financier.

Garlic cheese balls, pain Suisse, and tomato olive Danish pastries. As you would expect from a bakery known for baguettes and croissants, there were lots of baguette- and pastry-based choices.

And then, my beloved sandwiches. There were ham and cheese, basil, Colby Jack, and even an ang butter dessert sandwich! I snagged a basil sandwich and the one Colby Jack sandwich left, haha. Sandwiches made with delicious baguettes—I was so excited.

So many kinds of croissant. They were big, too.

Their signature Valrhona chocolate baguette and basil crunch bread are apparently so good that people come from other areas for them. I seriously debated the chocolate baguette but held back. Though I should have bought it (?)

Up above were sweet breads, too: kouign-amann, cruffins, melon cream bread, fig cream cheese baguette, and mango Danish pastries.

I liked that the brioche loaf came in three options—regular, mini, and sliced—so you could choose according to your preference.

A huge country loaf and two kinds of salt bread.

There are two options: classic salt bread and milk salt bread filled with milk cream.

They also package bread made the previous day and offer it at 40–50% off. Since I think a quick turn in the air fryer makes it taste freshly baked again anyway, I love deals like this!

For a baguette purchase, just let the staff know at the counter. One side of the shop has information on which items can be sliced and more.

The drink menu! There is no separate eating area at the bakery, so it is takeout only. After agonizing over all the breads, I ordered the following.

• Colby Jack sandwich (₩7,000)
• Basil sandwich (₩7,000)
• Brioche loaf (₩7,000)
• Salt bread (₩3,500)

For an extra ₩50, I added a plastic bag and packed everything up nicely—the loaf was overwhelmingly huge.

Colby Jack and basil sandwiches, plus brioche loaf: my review

The breads I took home!! The brioche loaf was seriously enormous. I lightly warmed it in the air fryer the next day, and it was crisp outside, moist inside, and delicious. I also loved the distinctive richness of brioche.

My most anticipated sandwiches. I ate them that afternoon, on the day I bought them. First, the Colby Jack sandwich is a baguette sandwich with onion cream cheese, green leaf lettuce, turkey ham, Colby Jack cheese, and marinated tomatoes. The cheese and ham were both good, but the onion cream cheese and marinated tomatoes inside worked together so beautifully... The onion cream cheese sort of embraces the saltiness of the cheese and ham (?) and brings up all the flavor.

Even though I ate the baguette later, it was not tough, and its nutty aroma was lovely too.

Next was the basil sandwich! It has basil pesto, Emmental cheese, sliced ham, and marinated tomatoes inside a baguette. As someone obsessed with basil, I had high hopes for this one. It is the kind of sandwich that goes all in on basil pesto alone, with no other sauce (?) The ingredients are simple, so it is light while the basil flavor comes through clearly. Basil lovers are guaranteed to be happy with this sandwich—