How Daejeon evolved from 'boring city' to 'city of bread'

In 2019, Daejeon Metropolitan City made an unusual pitch to tourists, asking them to post their own flowchart for visits to what it jokingly called “Boring Daejeon.”

It worked like a decision tree for visitors to Daejeon. Participants could answer “yes” or “no” to questions about the city and where to go, but no matter the path, it always ended the same way: “Stop by Sungsimdang — a historic bakery nestled in the heart of Daejeon.”

The humorous chart reflected how Daejeon is widely seen even by its own residents as a dull and uninteresting city, a place without the standout attractions that drew people to other comparably-sized cities.

Despite this reputation, last year the city drew 90.94 million visitors — the most since the Korea Tourism Data Lab began tracking the figures. Nearly half of those visits, 48.1 percent, were driven by food tourism.

Much of Daejeon's draw is its bakery scene, led by Sungsimdang, a famed purveyor of bread with a legacy that traces back decades and highlights the city's history as a hub for flour-based foods.

After the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, the United States began sending flour as part of its food aid. It was distributed nationwide from Daejeon, a transportation hub where rail lines linking Seoul, Busan and the Jeolla provinces intersect, ensuring the city had an abundant flour supply.

Sungsimdang dates to 1956, when it opened in front of Daejeon Station. It was featured in the Michelin Green Guide Korea in 2011 and its reputation started to grow nationwide after its bread was served to Pope Francis for breakfast during his 2014 visit to Korea.

Social media has accelerated that rise by spreading word of the bakery's value-priced products. Sungsimdang posted 262.9 billion won ($189.4 million) in sales last year, up 35.7 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit reached 64.3 billion won, up 34.5 percent.

The growth has been consistent, with operating profit climbing by more than 10 billion won annually, from 15.4 billion won in 2022 to 31.5 billion won in 2023 and 47.8 billion won in 2024.

Last year's figure alone topped the combined operating profit of nationwide franchises Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours. Paris Baguette operator Sangmidang Holdings posted an operating profit of 26 billion won last year, while Tous les Jours operator CJ Foodville posted 28.2 billion won.

Bakers trained at Sungsimdang have gone on to open their own shops around the city, adding to a wave of high-quality, affordable bakeries that have turned Daejeon into a site for "bread pilgrimage."

Park Yeon-jae, 17, made her own trip to Daejeon's bakeries last December, right after final exams.

“There are too many people on weekends and the wait is too long, so I picked a weekday I could go," Park said, adding that she scouted the bakeries on social media before visiting.

“What's great about Daejeon is that the bakeries are all close together, so you can hit several in one trip ... If I have the time, I'd like to stay overnight and visit more bakeries.”

Stories like Park's illustrate a broader reinvention, offering a case study for cities beyond Seoul that are scrambling to survive regional decline. Some analysts say the "boring city" label and Sungsimdang have together reshaped Daejeon's local identity.

Yang Seon-hee, a professor of global culture content studies at Daejeon University, examined how that identity took shape by collecting 357 media reports that used the keywords “boring” and “Daejeon” from 2019 through 2025.

The study found that “boring” was actively used as a linguistic stimulant that sparked a new image for the city, while Sungsimdang, which gained national fame around the same time, served as a catalyst for how Daejeon's local identity took shape.

The findings also suggest a wider point that while local identity has traditionally been shaped by public policy centered on government offices, Daejeon shows how private businesses and the sensory experience of consumption can come to symbolize a city.