Vegan/Gluten-Free Bakeries and Grocery Stores in Seoul, South Korea

Last month, I posted an article about vegan restaurants and cafes around Seoul. This time, I'll be introducing locations in Seoul that offer plant-based goods to buy and take home. While this list mostly consists of bread and pastry shops, I've included a vegan grocery store as well.

The Bread Blue

If I had to recommend only one vegan bakery, it'd be The Bread Blue- a modern bakery and café nestled on a quaint street right off the Gyyeongi Forest Line, north of Hongik Station. Here one can find elaborate breads, pastries, drinks, and desserts all being sold for a reasonable price.

Their more unique items include their Whole Wheat Apple Bread, Nuts and Fruit Bread, and giant Whole Wheat Bread rounds. The Bread Blue also has various flavored bread loaves, including their chocolate pumpkin loaf, along with some Korean classics such as red bean buns, soboro buns (a peanut streusel bread), and mammoth bread (bread layered with red bean and sweet green pea filling).

(Left to right) Sweet Mammoth Bread, Whole Wheat Apple Bread

(Left to right) 100% Whole Wheat Bread, 100% Rye Bread

The Whole Wheat Apple Bread is a comforting treat that's similar to an apple strudel- filled with soft cinnamon-spiced apples that melt in the mouth with each bite. Equally delectable is the Soboro Bread with its fluffy interior that packs a strong peanut taste and crumbly, sugar, crackle topping.

Soboro Bread

The Bread Blue dessert selection includs ice cream cake rolls, tofu brownies, and macarons, all impeccably decorated.

The first time I visited The Bread Blue, one of the employees kindly gave me a free macron and WOW it was delicious. I’m usually not a big fan of macrons as I find them to be too sweet. These however, are made with a thick center what I can guess to be a coconut crème-based filling, having a creamy and airy texture with a lot more subtle sweetness. Hands down the best macron I’ve ever had.

Macaron

Another reason I love The Bread Blue is for the attractiveness of their food. There is obvious care put into the presentation of their bakes, making them appealing to the eye for a general audience and aren’t just good looking, “for vegan food.”

Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30am – 10:00pm Sat-Sun 9:30am-9:00pm

Tel: +82 70-4405-0723

Address: 3 Sinchon-ro 12da-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

OOH! Breado Bakery

OOH! Breado Bakery is a small take-out shop in Mapo-gu that provides a simple selection of baked goods including muffins, bread loaves, and castella, along with some gluten-free options. While there’s nothing revolutionary about OOH! Breado, it is a convenient spot for stocking up on simple bread items if you live nearby.

Gluten-free options indicated with the "쌀" sign

The mugwort bean powder crème bun is delightful with a texture distantly resembling of a giant rice cake, having a soft and squishy bun made from rice flour with a thick and sweet crème that fills the center with just the right amount-not too little and not too much.

(clockwise from left) Black Rice Castela, Mugwort Bean Powder and Cream Bun, Korean Native Whole Bread

Mugwort Bean Powder and Cream Bun

OOH! Breado is located right next to the popular Zapangi Cafe, more commonly known as, “the vending machine café.” Zapangi, aside from being a cute photo opt spot, offers a tasty soymilk latte!

If you want to visit OOH! Breado, I recommend going earlier in the day as when I went at around 8:00pm they were sold out of many options.

Hours: Tues-Sun 9:00am-10:00pm

Tel: +82 70-8872-0509

Address: 79 World Cup-ro 13-gil, Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Hemil Bakery (해밀)

Haemil Bakery is a humble vegan bakery and cafe a short walk west of Hongik Station, offering a small variety basic vegan breads and snacks.

The only item I’ve tried is their black rice loaf which I found to be subpar-while the taste was okay the slices were very thin and lacking of sustenance, especially after being toasted. I prefer the loaves at Good Bread and The Bread Blue, both of which are comparatively similar in price and better in quality.

I do want to give Haemil the benefit of the doubt though, as when I was there I got to talk to the owner and later witnessed him giving away a free bread loaf to an unassuming customer which I thought was nice. According to the owner, the shop’s most popular item is the Pizza Bread, so if you decide to visit, maybe go for that instead of the toast.

Pizza Bread

Cranberry, Chocolate, and Lemon Scones

Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00am-8:30pm Sat-Sun 9:30am-8:00pm

Tel: +82 70-7655-0723

Address: South Korea, 성산동 239-24번지 1층 마포구 서울특별시

Yammy Yoli(야미요리)

I’m including Yammy here along with in my Vegan Restaurants and Cafes post because it qualifies in both categories, offering , ciabatta breads, buns, loves, and vegan crème cheese along with lattes, burgers, and various desserts. If you want to read about it in more detail, head on over to my other post!

Olive Cibatta with Vegan Cream Cheese, Avocado 'Cheese' Brushetta

Hours: Sun-Sat 9:00am-9:00pm (Lunch 12:00-1:00) Burger order starts at 10:00am.

Tel: 070-4122-0082

Address: 6-5, Yanghwa-ro, Seoul, South Korea

Good Bread

Good Bread is a small take-out store owned by an older couple, located near Itaewon Station in center Seoul, and close by to everyone’s’ favorite vegan restaurant in Seoul Plant. The bakery has a plethora of options ranging from red bean buns, rice cakes, and baguettes to fruit cakes, whole pies, babka, and seemingly whatever else the owners felt like baking that day. One might get overwhelmed with the options as there’s not only a lot to choose from, but it all looks scrumptious.

In a sea of carbs and gluten, however, their plain whole grain bread loaf shines glorious. Not only is the quality of the bread great, with thick fluffy slices of freshly milled whole grain, but the quantity is shocking-- after getting used to the small square loafs at other bakeries, taking this bread home felt like I was carrying a small child. Needless to say, I highly recommend the Good Bread.

Whole Wheat Bread

Banana Bread

Note:When visiting, double-check each item's provided ingredients list as not everything is vegan.

Address: 서울 용산구 보광로59길 5

SF Bagels

It’s fair to say that most vegans love bagels. They’re a go-to bread item one can rely on without having worry about ingredients. Catering to vegan Seoulites is SF Bagels, a tiny take-out shop located in western Seoul in Mapo-gu, offering copious flavors of sourdough bagels. Flavors range from the typical onion and cinnamon raisin to apricot, fig, and walnut, all capturing the classic taste of a San Francisco Bagel.

On Saturdays, SF Bagels offers a vegan cinnamon roll. Sadly, when I went, they had all sold out so I can’t personally vouch for them. However, if they look anything like their gargantuan non-vegan counterpart, they’d be hard to disappoint. The owner did tell me that you can message them on Instagram before arriving to check if the vegan cinnamon roll is available.

Along with bagels and cinnamon rolls, SF Bagels has a small selection of spreads. While I am more of a jam woman myself, the absence of vegan cream cheese is slightly disappointing. I don’t expect most places in Seoul to offer vegan cream cheese, but it is a bit discouraging coming from a place that actively advertises itself as catering to a vegan audience.

I bought the apricot bagel and took it home to have with some strawberry jam and banana. Rather than having apricot bits mixed throughout the dough, the bagel is injected with an apricot filling that runs through the center, ensuring a sweet and jammy taste with each bite. The outside of the bagel is perfectly toasted while still maintaining a soft and fluffy interior. If I could, I would go back and buy one of every bagel available!

Apricot Bagel

Apricot Bagel with banana and strawberry jam

Hours: Mon, Thurs, Fri 11:00am-9:00pm, Sat-Sun 9:00am-9:00pm

Tel: +82 2-333-0823

Address: 서울시 마포구 연남동 385-1 층Seoul, Korea

Dear Bread

If you’re a Korea University student, then you’re in luck. Dear Bread is a small take-out shop located in northeastern Seoul just off of the university campus. They have a few vegan items including their Red Bean Bread, a sweet and soft dessert-bread so good I ate it all in one sitting despite planning to eat only half.

(Left to right) Sourdough Bread, Red Bean Bread

Dear Bread will occasionally throw other sample items in with your order such as sourdough bites which, when freshly baked, permeate the whole shop with it's sweet-acidic smell. They were equally scrumptious with a crusty outside and soft and warm inside.

The only downside to Dear Bread is that since it's so small, items run out of stock quickly-usually by midday- so make sure to visit at open or as early as possible.

Hours: Mon-Sat 9:00am-7:00pm

Tel: 070-7661-4129

Address: 101-82, Anam-dong 5(o)-ga, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul

서울특별시 성북구 개운사1길 29

Vegan Space

Located in Yongsan-gu in center Seoul, is the vegan grocery store Vegan Space. When I first stepped into Vegan Space, I could almost hear an angelic choir sounding out above me. Vegan items that are normally unavailable in Korea, including Beyond Burger patties, kombucha, and a large assortment of spices, can all be found here.

Vegan Space also sells 1-kilogram bags of plain frozen vegetables, something I discovered to be obsolete at everyday Korean grocery stores.

The veggies are decently priced, something that can’t be said about some of their other items. The higher prices, however, are justifiable since vegan goods often come from abroad and therefore cost more to import. The prices are similar to what's available online on sites such as iHerb, but way better than what I’ve found at other physical stores- I’ve witnessed organic peanut butter heretically being sold for 20,000 won. In comparison, organic PB on iHerb costs about ₩10,000 while at Vegan Space it’s between ₩9,000 and ₩11,000 depending on the brand.

Vegan Space provides online ordering and shipping for all goods on their website. Their physical store also doubles as a café, serving a small selection of smoothies, teas, and coffees.

Hours: Tue-Sun 11:00am-8:00pm