[Old Shop Visit] Baking Memories Every Morning at 6 AM... 56-Year-Old Confectionery Kim Yong-an Confectionery Shop

Handcrafted Fresh Pastry Shop
Working with 25kg of Flour for a Full Six Hours
Faithfully Following Father's Method

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Fresh cookies called 'Senbei.' Everyone probably has memories tied to the fresh cookies wrapped in white packets from childhood. Carefully holding them as if they might crumble with the slightest pressure, and if any crumbs fell, hearing scolding like "Don't spill it!"

Kim Yongan Confectionery, located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, opened in 1967 and has been baking fresh cookies by hand in the same way for 56 years. The moment you enter the store, you smell the sweet scent of eggs mixed with sugar.

Mr. Kim Hyeongjung, in his 50s, who runs this place, always thinks of someone when baking cookies. Three years ago, his father passed away due to illness, and as the eldest son, Mr. Kim quit his previous job and took over the store. Having watched his father bake cookies since childhood, he still makes them by hand in the same way as back then. Fresh cookies baked by spreading the dough thinly over the fire. They are not sweet but savory, thin, and have a crispy texture. There is also a subtle egg aroma, and the store deliberately uses a lot of eggs even though it raises the cost.

Mr. Kim arrives at the store every day at 6 a.m. It takes a full six hours to make fresh cookies with 25kg of flour, including flavors like seaweed and peanut. Even so, during the peak season like now, the cookies often sell out by 3 or 4 p.m., leaving regular customers empty-handed. On this day, while answering questions here and there, calls from regulars kept coming asking, "Have the cookies sold out?"

Among the regulars is actor Ryu Seungsoo, who lives nearby and often comes to buy cookies. Mr. Kim said, "These days, fresh cookies are made to suit young people's tastes, with a bread-like texture, but we have to stand by the fire all day for the crispy texture. Everything is made in my father's style, and it's not an easy task," shaking his hand.

His answers frequently mentioned his father. His father raised four siblings by making and selling cookies. Continuing his father's life work and quietly baking memories in the same place might be the way this taciturn eldest son shows his love.

I bought a bag of the popular fresh cookies from the store. Carefully bringing them home, I took one out and put it in my mouth. The same crispy, pleasant taste as in childhood. Chewing the seaweed-flavored cookie, I sent a brief greeting, "Father, are you doing well?" The reply came back, "I went to Seoul anyway, but I didn't contact you because I thought you might be busy." Love, even with the same heart, is always fragile and cautious not to break or shatter. Still, the taste never changes.