Hongdae bakery by Gyeongui Line Forest Park: fig campagne, Mandong

What kind of bakery is Mandong Jegwa?

Mandong Jegwa (만동제과) is one of those Yeonnam-dong spots you really have to visit, so I finally dropped by. If you want to know what a high-quality loaf tastes like, just stop at Mandong Jegwa. It looks ordinary at first, but there's a certain care and softness, and the proper flavor of the bread all come together to give you a lovely taste.

What is Mandong Jegwa like right after lunch?

I stopped by right after lunchtime, and sure enough, customers were coming and going and the place was busy..

I picked out some to bring to my parents, some to eat as bread before a meal, and others to fit all the different rhythms of my daily life.

I happily browsed all the different breads at Mandong Jegwa. There are so many kinds! It has both specialty and variety, and the shelves are full of bread baked and sold the same day. If you're walking along Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Hongdae, you simply have to stop at Mandong Jegwa. It's the Yeonnam-dong bakery you must visit when you come to Hongdae~

How to get to Mandong Jegwa, and is there parking?

Mandong Jegwa is a 10-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station. It's a nice time of year for strolling and chatting, so take public transport. Nearly every shop around here has a tiny parking lot, or almost none at all, so there are plenty of shops but parking isn't easy. Taking the subway or a bus is the best option.

• Address: 32 Yeonhui-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
• Hours: daily 10:00–20:30
• Reserved pickup hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–17:00
• 10-minute walk from Exit 3, Hongik Univ. Station
• Groups, takeout and reservations available
• No parking

I stopped at Mandong Jegwa while out in Yeonnam-dong, and at the entrance they've put up a huge sign reading "빵" (bread). The letter is bigger than a person! Since it sits on a main road, parking is awkward, so I'd suggest using a nearby public parking lot. I wandered over from Hongik Univ. and arrived at Mandong Jegwa, a must-visit Yeonnam-dong bakery for anyone who loves bread.

How do you order bread at Mandong Jegwa?

Maybe because the space is small, the Yeonnam Branch doesn't put all the bread out on the display counter; only sample pieces are shown. You just tell the staff, and they bring the bread out for you, which is very convenient.

I hear the bakery began as Mandong Jegwa in Gangneung and the shop kept expanding all the way to Yeonnam-dong. It's one of the bakeries famous across the country.

The friendly staff explain the breads in detail if you ask. The atmosphere at Mandong Jegwa is as lovely as the bread is tasty. Sometimes they hand out bread as samples, and it's really good. The freshness and softness often make me buy that bread. It even felt like they roughly know what kind of bread you want or are curious about. The important question: why is that bread so good?? It looked ordinary, but Mandong Jegwa is full of special breads that are anything but ordinary.

To pay, you just go to the counter and say how many you want.

How does Mandong Jegwa's fig campagne taste?

The bread I chose this time was Mandong Jegwa's fig campagne (a rustic country-style loaf).

Lots of breads go well with figs, but Mandong Jegwa's bread is still the best.

The fig campagne tastes great and is packed with nuts. It balances nicely with the ingredients that pair well with figs.

It tastes good whenever you eat it, and it's great as bread before a meal.

How were the walnut bread and mugwort rice-cake bread?

The crunchy walnut bread at Mandong Jegwa is also really good.

The mugwort tteok bread (ssuktteok ssuktteok, bread with chewy mugwort rice cake) is so delicious. Older folks especially love it, and it's a bread that always shows up at famous bakeries. Yeonnam-dong bakery, Hongdae go-to~

Mandong Jegwa had lots of breads generously filled with ingredients and richly tasty. The variety is wide, and they're moist and soft too. There isn't a single bad bread, so Mandong Jegwa is a bakery where everything is delicious.