Leesungdang (이성당)

Leesungdang, in the southwestern port city of Gunsan, is South Korea's oldest continuously operating bakery. Its site traces to a Japanese-run shop opened in the 1920s during the colonial period; when Korea was liberated in 1945, the shop's Korean staff took it over and renamed it Leesungdang, and the bakery has run under that name from the same city ever since.

The shop is known specifically for two items that have anchored its menu for decades: yachae-ppang, a savory vegetable-filled bread, and danpat-ppang, a bun filled with sweetened red bean paste. Business was not always secure — foot traffic through Gunsan declined through the 1990s and strained the shop — but word-of-mouth interest through the 2010s turned Leesungdang into a genuine bread-pilgrimage destination, according to Korean food and travel press covering its turnaround.

The bakery has stayed a family business throughout: by 2019 it was run by the founder's daughter-in-law, and a third generation now operates its Seoul branch, sold under the related name Haetssalmaru. As of 2024 Leesungdang operates its Gunsan flagship at 177 Jungang-ro plus branches in Seoul, Yongin, Hwaseong, and a Gimpo Airport counter that opened in April 2020 — expansion built entirely on a menu that has barely changed since 1945.