Jane Han is the North America editor for The Korea Times. Based in Seattle, she has covered business, culture and social issues across the United States for over 15 years. She previously worked at The Boston Globe.
Why is it called London Bagel Museum? Worker’s death draws attention to 'puzzling' name
London Bagel Museum in Seoul's Anguk area bustles with visitors in January 2024. Korea Times file
By Jane Han
The death of a 26-year-old London Bagel Museum employee has cast an unexpected spotlight on Korea’s most famous bagel chain — and renewed a peculiar question many have long wondered: Why is it called London Bagel Museum in the first place?
The bakery, adored for its thick, chewy bagels and brick interior, has become a cultural phenomenon in Seoul, often drawing lines that wrap around city blocks. But as news spread that a young worker had died after reportedly working 80-hour weeks, discussion online shifted to a more common curiosity about the brand itself.
“London Bagel Museum, famous for its non-London bagels,” one Reddit user joker. Another added, “It is just so random. It's not any different than calling something Stockholm Pizza, Barcelona French Toast, Rome Japchae, Tokyo Falafel, Seoul Lasagna.” A self-described Londoner weighed in more bluntly: “Ask yourself, as a Londoner; are we universally famous for our bagels?”
Some users tried to reason it out. One claimed that “if you read the packaging, the reason it’s called London is ‘they just liked London,’” while another pointed out that bagels have existed in London’s Jewish community since the 1850s, “though hardly enough to make the city synonymous with bagels.”
“It’s simultaneously not Korean at all and also the most Korean thing there is,” one popular comment summed up, reflecting how global city names are often used in Korean branding to convey a sense of style or prestige.
London Bagel Museum opened its first store in Anguk-dong in central Seoul in September 2021. It currently operates seven stores nationwide.
The Justice Party stated Monday that an employee of the company died in July after working nearly 80 hours a week. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said it is reviewing whether to launch a labor inspection following the family’s claim that the employee’s death was caused by overwork.