Mangwon Market bakery financier and angbutter: Boulangerie Copain

Stopping by Boulangerie Copain while running errands in Mangwon-dong

Boulangerie Copain is a bakery in Mangwon-dong that I stopped by while my husband had a photo development errand to run there. It'd been a while since I'd wandered Mangwon Market, so I made sure to hit the bakery too :) Coming all this way and just leaving would've been a waste, haha. Mangwon-dong is famous for its restaurants and bakeries, so I figured I'd find one good bakery to visit while I was at it — and this time it was Boulangerie Copain!

Turns out it had even been featured on SBS's Life of Masters, and not just any feature — as a master of baguette AND croissant, which makes it a place any bread lover would be curious about at least once. I'd decided before even going that I absolutely had to try the baguette and croissant, but to cut to the chase... I'll be going back for the baguette next time, ugh.

Boulangerie Copain, conveniently located near Mangwon Market

Boulangerie Copain is in a spot that's easy to combine with a stroll through Mangwon Market, so it's great for a Mangwon-dong date or outing. Our original purpose was my husband's errand, but between buying bread and browsing the market, it basically turned into a full Mangwon-dong outing, haha. If you're on a bakery pilgrimage in Mangwon-dong, this could easily be added to a date course along with nearby bakeries or cafés.

Does Boulangerie Copain's baguette sell out even on weekdays?

Boulangerie Copain's popular items can sell out depending on when you visit, so if you have your heart set on a baguette or campagne, I'd recommend going a bit earlier. Because... I didn't want to find this out myself, but even on a weekday when I visited, the regular baguette and campagne were both gone. Ugh.

The baguette from Life of Masters was the one I was most curious about, and it still bugs me that I never got to buy the basic one. Sigh. Next time I might just time my visit for 10am, when the baguettes come out, haha.

What kind of breads does Boulangerie Copain have?

The shop had a wider variety than I expected on display — croissants, salt bread, milk salt bread, brioche loaf, angbutter (red bean and butter baguette), castella cream bread, and financier. Since it's known from Life of Masters for baguette and croissant, I'd naturally assumed it'd be mostly hard-crust breads, but in person there was plenty to choose from depending on your taste.

As a total bread lover, this is where the real dilemma began!!! Picking just one felt like a waste, so I ended up grabbing a little of everything. How am I supposed to pick just oneeee?

A chocolate baguette instead of the Life of Masters baguette

The thing that caught my eye most when I looked up Boulangerie Copain was Life of Masters! It's the spot featured on SBS's Life of Masters as a master of baguette and croissant. There are so many famous bakeries these days, but hearing that they were recognized for something as basic as baguette and croissant made me even more curious. I do like breads with flashy toppings or cream, but personally I lean toward places where the bread itself is delicious, so my expectations for the baguette were especially high.

But when I got there... no regular baguette. No campagne either. I figured a weekday would be more relaxed, so I hadn't timed my visit around the restock, and unfortunately I missed both that day.

Instead there was a chocolate baguette, which looked pretty tasty too — I went back and forth on whether to buy it, but since I'd already picked so many other breads, I passed on it that day. Then once I got home, I kept thinking about it... maybe I should've just bought it? (If I weren't dieting, I definitely would have, haha.) Next time I'm buying the basic baguette, the campagne, AND the chocolate baguette, guilt-free!

Boulangerie Copain's croissant, worth noting for first-timers

Boulangerie Copain's croissant was featured alongside the baguette on Life of Masters, and thankfully I got to see this one in person. The layers looked alive and delicious, and it was clearly going to be crispy on the outside — there was no way I wasn't buying this.

I was disappointed about missing the baguette, but I couldn't miss the croissant too, so I grabbed it right away. Since it was featured alongside the baguette on Life of Masters, I think it's a menu item worth watching if you're visiting Boulangerie Copain for the first time.

The 7 breads I bought at Boulangerie Copain that day

• Angbutter
• Financier
• Brioche loaf
• Salt bread
• Milk salt bread
• Castella cream bread
• Croissant

Person who went in to buy one baguette and came out with a bag full of bread = 🙋🏻‍♀️ haha. Once you start looking at each one, they all look delicious, so you end up grabbing one of every kind — and buying a bunch of different types like this makes for a fun time tasting them one by one at home^^

Financier eaten while walking through Mangwon Market

Boulangerie Copain's financier was the first thing I pulled out to eat while browsing Mangwon Market, and I especially loved the chewy texture. After walking out with an armful of bread, we didn't head straight home but wandered through Mangwon Market too — and since even Geumgangsan looks better after a meal, I pulled out a financier first, and it turned out to be way better than expected.

Financiers can be off-putting when they're too dry or, on the flip side, too greasy, but Boulangerie Copain's had that especially chewy texture when I ate it, haha. I had a light one while walking around Mangwon Market and it vanished in a snap — pure magic!

Boulangerie Copain's angbutter, where the baguette was the real star

Boulangerie Copain's angbutter stuck with me the most out of everything I tried this time — the baguette caught my attention even before the red bean and butter did. Usually with angbutter, you focus on the red bean and butter combo first, but with this one, it was actually the baguette that turned out to be the tastiest part...

The texture on the outside was great, and the more I chewed, the more nuttiness came through from the bread, so the baguette held its own even between the red bean and butter. So even while eating the angbutter, I kept thinking about the basic baguette...? Like, if this is how good it is as a supporting player, how good must the actual baguette be?? Missing out on the regular baguette suddenly felt way, way more disappointing from this point on.

Even the baguette part alone, eaten separately, was delicious, which only made me want to try the basic baguette even more to see why it was named a baguette master on Life of Masters. Of course angbutter tastes different from a plain baguette since it has red bean and butter in it, but at least the texture and flavor of the bread itself was exactly my type >_< So now I'm debating whether I should do an opening run next time, just for the basic baguette.

Salt bread and milk salt bread, bought together to compare

Boulangerie Copain has both a regular salt bread and a milk salt bread, so I was curious about both and picked them up together. Salt bread is a must these days at any bakery, but it's fun that even within salt bread, there are different types to choose from depending on your taste. If you like trying a little of everything like I do, I'd recommend buying the regular salt bread and milk salt bread together to compare!

Beyond Boulangerie Copain's signature breads like the baguette and croissant, there was a good range of easy, casual breads too, so it was also a decent place to visit for bread to share with family — though I didn't bring a stroller in.

Brioche loaf and castella cream bread too

I also picked up a brioche loaf and a castella cream bread at Boulangerie Copain. From plain to sweet to breads that work as a light meal, the range was wide enough to make it easy to pick something for a group. If you're like us and like buying a variety to keep at home and eat one at a time, there are plenty of options here. It's also a great stop for bread to bring home if you're just out browsing Mangwon Market!

Boulangerie Copain for a Mangwon-dong bakery pilgrimage?

Boulangerie Copain is a Mangwon-dong bakery worth pairing with a walk through Mangwon Market. I came this time because of my husband's errand and visited pretty much on a whim, but ended up heading home with way more bread than expected, haha. Mangwon-dong has so many famous cafés and bakeries that it's a genuinely fun neighborhood to explore for bread lovers, and since you can browse Mangwon Market at the same time, it works well as a full day-trip course. If you're scouting Mangnidan-gil bakeries and can't decide where to go, Boulangerie Copain, featured on Life of Masters, is worth adding to the list!!

More than anything, what stuck with me was how good the baguette was while eating the angbutter..! I never did get to buy the basic baguette I was most curious about that day, but the baguette inside the angbutter eased the disappointment this time, so next time I'll properly buy a baguette and stroll Mangwon Market with it in hand :) Next visit, baguette mission accomplished, and I'll finally try everything I missed this time, muahaha!