Jongno 3-ga bakery with Sungsimdang value: rice chestnut loaf, Munhwa

I visited a bakery in Jongno 3-ga that makes me not envy Sungsimdang at all. This review focuses on the breads you really should buy at Munhwa Bakery, so pay attention to what follows.

Where is Munhwa Bakery?

Munhwa Bakery is just 200m from Exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga Station, a triple-line station on Lines 1, 3 and 5. It is right by the station, so access is very easy.

Munhwa Bakery store info

• Address: 65 Donhwamun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st floor (lot-number address: 173 Waryong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul)
• Hours: daily 11:00-20:00
• No parking
• Takeout available, easy-pay available

What does the outside of Munhwa Bakery look like?

Munhwa Bakery gives off a proper Jongno 3-ga bakery vibe from the outside. The big bread sign out front is so cute, too. It is near Jongno 3-ga Station, so it was easy to find.

The sign has a lovely feel, and the whole place has the charm of a hanok (traditional Korean house) that captures Jongno's culture. I think it is a great spot for foreign visitors as well as locals.

I hear Munhwa Bakery won an award in the café dessert category of a Korean consumer industry evaluation. It is also a Save the Children partner shop, a bakery that helps save children.

Inside Munhwa Bakery: types of bread and prices

Inside, there are no separate tables for eating in, just neatly displayed bread. It is a takeout-only bakery. Once I saw the prices, I thought I had absolutely picked the right Jongno 3-ga bakery. I filmed every bread they make as a short clip, so take your time watching.

The lineup is solid, focused on tasty breads, and the prices are so kind!!

Why this bakery rivals Sungsimdang

Many breads at Munhwa Bakery are in the ₩3,000s, and the priciest are only ₩5,000-6,000, so the value is great. Just as Daejeon's famous Sungsimdang is known for great taste and bargain prices, Munhwa Bakery's prices were wonderfully kind too.

I ordered a bit of everything, mostly large breads, and was surprised that the total came to only the low-to-mid ₩10,000s. Bread prices are really expensive these days, right? Every bread looked fresh and delicious and I wanted to buy them all, but there aren't many people in my household, so we couldn't finish that much. After a lot of agonizing, I bought just three breads. Delicious taste and great-value prices are why I don't envy Daejeon's Sungsimdang.

Munhwa Bakery review event and tasting corner

Munhwa Bakery gives away a salt bread if you write a photo review with your receipt, which is such a generous event. There is a tasting corner too. I had just eaten a meal so I skipped the samples, but the neatly arranged tasting corner left an impression.

3 breads I bought at Munhwa Bakery

I carried home a shopping bag full of bread, happily skipping the whole way.

These photos were taken while I was eating, so I'll mostly show you the cross-sections.

Rice chestnut loaf ₩5,800: fresh-baked taste after 15 seconds in the microwave

Munhwa Bakery's rice chestnut loaf (쌀밤식빵) was packed with chestnuts inside. To enjoy it like a freshly baked loaf, just microwave it for 15 seconds and you get warm, chewy bread.

Injeolmi bread ₩3,800: full of cream and red bean

This is the cross-section of Munhwa Bakery's injeolmi bread (bread coated in roasted soybean powder, like injeolmi rice cake). The outside is nicely dusted with injeolmi powder, and the inside is full of cream and red bean.

Coffee bread ₩5,800: tears apart softly by hand

Munhwa Bakery's coffee bread is also soft, chewy and delicious. It tears apart softly when you pull it by hand.

That was Munhwa Bakery, a Jongno 3-ga bakery that makes me not envy Sungsimdang.