Jongno bakery for chestnut rice bread: Munhwa Bakery

Every time I passed through Ikseon-dong, there was this alley with the warm smell of bread drifting out—and I finally gave in and went into Munhwa Bakery! It is only a two-minute walk from Exit 7 of Jongno 3-ga Station, so it is perfectly located for a stop while wandering the hanok alleys of Ikseon-dong.

Munhwa Bakery’s exterior in an Ikseon-dong alley

The little “Bread” sign out front is so cute. This is the kind of place you find by the smell first, haha. There is a notice on the door asking only two groups to enter at a time because the interior is narrow, and it really is tiny, so people in line wait outside. Its hanok-style exterior with roof tiles fits the Ikseon-dong alley atmosphere beautifully.

📍 Location: 65 Donhwamun-ro, 1F, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (2-minute walk from Exit 7 of Jongno 3-ga Station) ⏰ Hours: Daily 11:00–20:00 (closed September 25 for Chuseok) 🅿️ Parking: No dedicated parking; use nearby paid parking, such as Turu Parking Ikseon-dong

Munhwa Bakery bread selection and prices

They happened to be baking loaves when I went in, so the shop was filled with a lovely toasty smell. So that was the scent I had noticed outside, haha. You do not pick up the bread yourself; tell a staff member what you want and they pack it for you right away.

There were breads like injeolmi (Korean rice cake) bread, peanut bread, mugwort rice cake bread, and black sesame bread—breads whose names alone tell you what they are. There were way more varieties than I expected, so I took ages to choose.

• Injeolmi bread ₩3,800 / peanut bread ₩3,800
• Mugwort rice cake bread ₩5,700 / coffee bread ₩5,800
• Rice cheese bread ₩5,900 / rice chestnut bread ₩5,800
• Sweet potato bread ₩3,800 / white bean paste bread ₩3,800 / walnut bread ₩3,500
• Onion bagel ₩6,000 / milk cream bread ₩3,500 / black sesame bread ₩3,800

Most items are in the ₩3,000–₩4,000 range, so adding a few things to the bag does not feel too costly.

I saw coffee bread and, as a bread lover, I could not just walk past it. But the moment I spotted the rice chestnut bread beside it, my heart tipped that way. I love chestnut bread so much that this was an absolute must-get...! I also wanted the white bean paste and sweet potato breads, but buying everything felt like more than I could handle at home, so I narrowed it down to two: rice cheese bread and rice chestnut bread.

A cozy little shop and freshly baked bread

It is a small space, but the wood tones make it feel cozy. Bread trays kept arriving from the back, which made it clear everything was baked that day. There were stacks of gift boxes on one side too, so it seemed lots of people buy bread as gifts! Standing in front of the display, fresh bread keeps appearing from the back, and it is fun asking which ones have just come out and choosing from there.

How would you like your loaf packed?

They packed everything neatly in a paper bag. Not a single part got squashed on the way home. They can slice the loaves if you ask, so if you are eating one right away, it would be a good idea to request slicing.

Rice chestnut bread and rice cheese bread: how they tasted

The rice chestnut bread had chestnuts visible even from the outside. This was the first thing I took out as soon as I got home, haha!

Chewy rice cheese bread

First, the rice cheese bread! The cheese is not just on top; it is tucked all through the inside, so cheese appears with every piece you pull apart. The cheese flavor is rich and the loaf itself is so chewy that I kept reaching for it without spreading anything on it. Maybe because it is rice bread, it is moister than regular sandwich bread, and its chewiness becomes even more distinct the more you eat.

Rice chestnut bread with chestnuts in every slice

And the rice chestnut bread... I cut into it and it was packed with whole chestnuts. Usually, eating chestnut bread is fun because you hunt for the chestnuts, but there is no need to hunt here—there are chestnuts wherever you cut. It had been such a long time since I had seen a loaf with this many chestnuts, so I ate it alone while repeatedly marveling at it. Next time, I think I will buy two of these.

If you are exploring Ikseon-dong and smell bread, this is the place, so do pop in at least once! I hear garlic bread is their signature, but I fell for the loaves, so I am planning another visit for the garlic bread next time. Apparently garlic bread, coffee bread, and onion bagels are the top three popular items, and I want to work my way through all three next time.