Sungsimdang, a 70-Year Promise of Love

The Miracle of Daejeon, the Bakery with Endless Lines

Have you ever visited the city of Daejeon? If you go to its downtown area, Eungang-dong, you will encounter a very curious sight. Rain or snow, from morning till night, there is a never-ending long line outside a bakery. But this isn’t a line for the latest smartphone or limited-edition luxury goods. What people eagerly wait for is a single piece of freshly baked warm bread.

The protagonist of this amazing scene is the bakery called ‘Sungsimdang (聖心堂)’. But the truly astonishing story begins now. There is the giant bakery empire Paris Baguette, with over 3,400 stores nationwide, found everywhere around us. And then there is Sungsimdang, rooted only in the city of Daejeon. It’s like David and Goliath, isn’t it? Yet in 2023, an incredible event happened. Sungsimdang recorded an operating profit of 31.5 billion KRW, surpassing Paris Baguette’s 19.9 billion KRW.

How was this possible? The answer starts with the earnest prayer of a young man who lost everything over 70 years ago. This is not just a lucky bakery success story. It is a very special tale showing how a great promise contained in a single piece of bread and the most human values can become the greatest power.

Chapter 1: Prayer on the Sea, Two Bags of Flour on Land

Let’s go back in time to the harsh winter of 1950 at Hungnam Pier. Amid biting cold winds, countless refugees were crying out to board the last ship. There was a 23-year-old young man named Im Gil-soon. He was responsible not only for his family but also for about 200 fellow parishioners from the same church. In a moment of despair, he raised a white cloth with a red cross high and miraculously caught the attention of the U.S. military, allowing him to board the legendary cargo ship, the ‘Meredith Victory’.

On the ship filled with the groans and fears of many people, he prayed earnestly to God. This prayer later became the unwavering constitution of a great company.

“Oh Lord, if you let us survive safely, we will spend the rest of our lives helping the hungry and needy.”

After passing Geoje Island and staying in Jinhae, the Im family was heading to Seoul when fate intervened: their train broke down and stopped at Daejeon Station. Exhausted, they went to Daehung-dong Church, where Father Oh Gi-seon gave them two precious bags of flour. Though they could have worried about their next meal, Im’s wife Han Soon-duk suggested using the flour to knead ‘hope’ and sell it.

Thus, in 1956, a small tent in front of Daejeon Station began selling steamed buns under the name ‘Sungsimdang (聖心堂)’, meaning the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was not just a store name. It was a noble vow to keep the earnest prayer made on the cold sea for a lifetime and the beginning of a sacred pledge.

Chapter 2: A Bakery for Everyone, Embracing the Era

For the founder Im Gil-soon, sharing was as natural as breathing. From the very first day of business in 1956, any leftover bread at the end of the day was never sold the next day but given away to the hungry around Daejeon Station. Word spread that “anyone who is hungry can come and take bread,” and Sungsimdang became the last bastion of hope for the poor.

As time passed, the second-generation CEO Im Young-jin sought a powerful weapon to make Sungsimdang a national star based on his father’s spirit of sharing. In 1980, a masterpiece in Korean baking history was born: the ‘Fried Soboro’. Combining crispy soboro topping, sweet red bean paste, and savory doughnut charm, this bread quickly became a Daejeon specialty, attracting people from all over the country eager to taste it.

There was an event that made Sungsimdang more than just a ‘delicious bakery’—it became the pride of all Daejeon citizens. In June 1987, during the heated democratization movement, Sungsimdang secretly distributed bread and milk to protesting students. When arrested and questioned by the police, the young officers said:

“We also… ate that bread when we were hungry.”

This single statement showed what Sungsimdang meant. To both protesters and riot police, Sungsimdang’s bread was a warm comfort. This incident established Sungsimdang as a ‘bakery for everyone’ beyond any particular ideology.

Chapter 3: Becoming One with Daejeon Amid Trials

Even on the road to success, trials came. In the 1990s, Sungsimdang ventured into nationwide franchising but the results were disastrous. Mass-produced bread from factories couldn’t match the ‘original taste’ of the main store, and combined with the Asian financial crisis, the company went bankrupt in 2003. This failure left a painful lesson: ‘Our path lies in quality, not quantity.’

Then in 2005, a greater disaster struck. A major fire reduced the main store to ashes. Just when they wanted to give up, a miracle happened. The next morning, employees gathered at the burnt store as if by promise and began clearing the debris with their bare hands. They hung a banner saying:

“Our company in ashes, we will revive it!”

The employees were a true ‘community of fate’ who took the company’s pain as their own. This event led Sungsimdang to create a ‘company where everyone is an owner,’ a ‘one-family culture,’ transparently disclose all management information, and start an unprecedented innovation of sharing 15% of profits with all employees. Forgiving and reconciling colleagues became the highest virtue in the company. These two trials made Sungsimdang stronger and deeply rooted it in the land of Daejeon like no other.

Chapter 4: The Secret to Beating Goliath: The Profit Miracle

Now, let’s look at how Sungsimdang beat Paris Baguette and the secret behind its astonishing profits.

Source: Financial Supervisory Service Electronic Disclosure System

Sungsimdang’s operating margin is an incredible 25%—almost miraculous for a bakery. How is this possible? The real secret lies in its ‘cost structure.’ By embracing the limitation of being only in ‘Daejeon’ as a philosophy, it completely eliminated the enormous costs that large corporations must bear.

• Advertising cost: 0 KRW: Sungsimdang does not run TV ads. Its best marketing is the numerous ‘Sungsimdang fandom’ who voluntarily post reviews on social media.
• Franchise support cost: 0 KRW: There are no complex and huge costs for managing and supporting thousands of stores nationwide.
• Ultra-efficient local logistics: Since all stores are concentrated in Daejeon, logistics are very simple. For example, to make the winter ‘Strawberry Siru’ cake, they buy the highest quality strawberries wholesale from nearby Nonsan, supplying fresh fruit at minimal cost. This is a competitive advantage impossible to imitate with a nationwide logistics network.

Ultimately, Sungsimdang’s remarkable profit margin is the inevitable result of a philosophical decision to ‘stay only in Daejeon.’ By giving up the ambition to be number one nationwide, the huge costs that come with that vanished, allowing the company to fully invest in the best products, employees, and customers.

Chapter 5: The Real Secret Recipe: People, Principles, Sharing

But numbers alone cannot explain all of Sungsimdang. The true secret recipe, which no one can imitate, stands on three pillars.

1. People and an ‘Economy for Everyone’: Sungsimdang believes profits are not simply company property but for the community. It respects employees and values love above all. Happy employees take pride in making the best bread, and that positive energy is passed directly to customers.
2. Principles and Uncompromising Values: Like the ‘Strawberry Siru’ cake, which is half strawberry by weight yet reasonably priced. This is not ‘cost-effectiveness’ but a ‘universally accessible price.’ The most important principle is to maintain a bakery where both rich and poor can enjoy without burden.
3. Sharing as the Driving Force of Growth: Following the principle ‘bread made that day is all sold that day,’ thousands of breads are donated daily to welfare facilities. This builds customer trust that they always get the freshest bread, and moved by Sungsimdang’s sincerity, customers become its strongest promoters.

These three pillars interlock to create a powerful ‘virtuous cycle.’

[Philosophy] → [Happy Employees] → [Best Products] → [Enthusiastic Customers] → [High Profits] → [Generous Reinvestment] → [Strengthened Philosophy]

This is the real secret recipe unique to Sungsimdang that cannot be replicated no matter how many billions are spent.

Chapter 6: The Future is Baked in Daejeon

When asked, “Why only in Daejeon?” Sungsimdang always answers firmly: because Daejeon is the ‘promised land ordained by heaven’ where the founder settled by chance.

Instead of spreading branches, Sungsimdang grows by deepening and strengthening its roots. It is evolving beyond selling bread into an ‘experience company’ that shapes Daejeon’s culture.

• Sungsimdang Cultural Center: A remodeled old boarding house that serves as a museum showcasing Sungsimdang’s history and a resting place for local residents.
• Brand Diversification: Various brands like ‘Sungsimdang Cake Boutique’ and ‘Terrace Kitchen’ appear throughout Daejeon’s original downtown, creating a small ‘Sungsimdang theme park’ within the city.
• Online Mall: Wisely responding to nationwide demand with a well-developed online mall, preserving brand value.

And Sungsimdang’s biggest dream returns to the starting point of the story 70 years ago: when reunification happens someday, opening a branch in Hamju, South Hamgyong Province, the founder’s hometown. A truly heartwarming vision.

Conclusion: Beyond a Bakery, a Great Promise

Let’s return to the long line in Eungang-dong, Daejeon. Now we understand the true meaning of that line. People are not simply waiting to buy delicious bread. They stand there to witness how the earnest prayer of a young man 70 years ago is realized daily in this city, to taste the proof of that great promise.

Sungsimdang’s story is a grand narrative proving how the most human values—love, sharing, honesty—can wield tremendous power. They created a completely different kind of game where profit is not the goal but the ‘result’ that naturally follows pursuing everyone’s happiness. And the warm piece of bread they bake with care every dawn is the most delicious and certain evidence that all those promises are faithfully kept today.