The Rebellion of Independent Bakeries:

Somac Bakery and others in downtown Gwangju

Written and Photographed by Cho Namhee

French is a far cry from the language you usually hear walking down the streets in Korea. But there are three French words and phrases frequently used in Korea: tous les jour, baguette and croissant. Although they are common in Korea because of stores using French, they are always mispronounced. Two of Korea’s bakery giants are Paris Baguette and Tous les Jour, and they have monopolized the bakery industry here in the peninsula. These franchises are the brands created by the mega food corporations SPC Group and CJ (part of Samsung family) respectively. In the late 1990s, these franchises started to expand in the whole country and with the overflowing funds from their success, they have dominated every single neighborhood. Thus, independent bakeries gradually lost their strength and barely maintained their business.

Of course, those mega companies enormously contributed to the phasing out of the independent bakeries, but it does not mean that all independent bakeries disappeared. The only strength of the independent bakeries in the past was the freshness of the bread. All they had on their stands were loaves of plain sandwich bread, Soboro (a bread looking like barren grounds on the top) and red bean bread. At the time when bakeries were not so common, small business owners were not even aware of the necessity in investing in product research and development due to the fact that their bread sold like hotcakes every day. When the franchises emerged with a variety of daily fresh baked bread, the majority of the independent bakeries started to toss the white flag into the air.

Only a few years ago independent bakeries returned, this time with skilled bakers. They had strengthened the weaknesses of the previous independent bakeries and were ready to challenge the dominators. The forerunner was a Gwangju owned bakery, called Verviers (also in French). The bakery specialized in organic baking and it was a huge sensation since it coincided with the rise of health awareness in Korea. The story of success quickly spread and it summoned a lot of skilled bakers into town in the Dongmyeong area, near the Asian Culture Center.

In the café area of Dongmyeong-dong, there are bakeries emerging like Artisan Hong and Yoon Seul Bakery. They certainly serve delectable bread but Somac Bakery right next to the ACC had something more than just the delicious taste of bread. Somac means “wheat” in Korean, and as a co-owner and baker of the store, Byung Oh Kang, who has been baking bread since high school, insists on using only 100% Korean wheat for his bread.

“There are no other bakeries that use pure Korean wheat in the neighborhood. Some use organic ingredients but they are all imports. I am proud to introduce my bread as full Korean bread,” Kang said with confidence.

“My whole family is involved in the bakery industry. My brother and I run this store, and my father owned a bakery since 1982 in Hwasun until he passed away. My uncle owns a patisserie. Somac is not my first bakery. I once ran a bakery in Ssangchon-dong for about a year but it was a huge failure. I think I learned a lot from the experience” said Kang. He believed that he lacked the passion in the first place. There were competitions with other franchises around the area but he was not desperate enough to beat them. Through this experience, he vigorously studied and analyzed bakeries and the areas in Gwangju. This time, he and his brother did everything from tiling to interior design of the store with more passion put into the business. Everything had to pass through their hands.

Somac Bakery opened up in March 2014. Since then, there are more than 150 people visiting every day and countless regulars wait for their favorite bread to come out fresh. It opens from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. 7 days a week and closes on the last Sunday of each month. About 150 kinds of breads are freshly baked every day between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. “Our best-selling product is the chocolate bread called the bushman’s bread. It went viral and quickly gained fame. I am glad that my customers are satisfied with my bread. I hope all the independent bakeries in Gwangju continue to thrive and I will do my best to provide the best bread in town.”

The competition between the independent bakeries certainly elevated the standards of the bakery industry in Gwangju. We are only a few years away from being able to taste a true French baguette and croissant in town.