Sungsimdang, a family-run bakery in Daejeon, South Korea, is strengthening its nationwide popularity with its viral cake products as it pursues a long-term goal of becoming a 100-year-old brand.

Founded in 1956, Sungsimdang has stayed rooted in Daejeon and grown into one of the country’s most iconic bakeries. The business is operated by three generations of the Lim family, including founder Lim Gil-soon, current CEO Lim Young-jin, and his children Lim Sun(Sole Lim) and Lim Dae-hyuk, both of whom serve as directors at the bakery’s parent company Rosso.

Sungsimdang currently operates four company-owned stores, all located in Daejeon. The main store area in Jung-gu features a cake boutique, sandwich shop, traditional snack store, and affiliated restaurants, forming what many locals call “Sungsimdang Street.”

Among its best-known products is the “Fried Soboro” bun, which has sold over 108 million units since its release in 1980. The volume of ingredients used so far include 2,812 tons of flour, 16.22 million eggs, 432 tons of butter, and 540,000 liters of milk.

One of the most recent hits is the “Strawberry Siroo,” a four-layer cake packed with fresh strawberries and weighing 2.3 kilograms. Priced at about 40,000 won ($28.94), the cake has earned praise for its taste and value. The bakery sells around 5,000 cakes on weekends and around 2,000 on weekdays.

To meet rising demand, Sungsimdang added a dedicated production space next to the cake boutique in late 2024. As strawberry season winds down, the facility has shifted production to a seasonal mango version.

Despite its national fame, the bakery has no plans to expand outside its hometown. Director Lim Sun emphasized the importance of staying true to its regional roots. “We want our bread to be luxurious enough for the wealthy, yet accessible to everyone,” she said, adding that sincerity, taste, and affordability are the brand’s key values.

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