The Ultimate Love-or-Hate 'Mint Choco' Expands to Bungeoppang... To Eat or Not to Eat?

Filled with Mint Choco Paste Instead of Red Bean Paste
Netizens Divided Over Mint Choco Bungeoppang

As the first snow of the year fell in Seoul, signaling the start of winter, an unusual type of Bungeoppang has become a hot topic among netizens.

Recently, a post titled "The Latest on Over-the-Top Japanese Bungeoppang" was uploaded on an online community. The revealed photo showed a Bungeoppang with an extraordinary appearance. The thick Bungeoppang, notable even in size, looks hearty just by looking at it. The highlight is inside the Bungeoppang. When cut in half, instead of the usual red bean paste, it is filled with refreshing-smelling mint chocolate.

This Bungeoppang is Taiyaki sold at a Japanese store called 'Kurikoan.' Taiyaki is a Japanese-style Bungeoppang, a snack made by baking flour batter and various ingredients in a sea bream-shaped mold. Online community 'Theq'

This Bungeoppang is a Taiyaki sold at a Japanese store called "Kurikoan." Taiyaki is a Japanese-style Bungeoppang, a snack made by baking flour batter and various ingredients in a sea bream-shaped mold. While Korean Bungeoppang typically contains red bean paste or custard cream, Japan makes Taiyaki with a wider variety of creams. Among them, mint chocolate Bungeoppang is said to be very popular among some mint chocolate lovers.

Netizens who encountered this product left comments such as "Feels like brushing my teeth with Bungeoppang," "Mint chocolate is disgusting," and "I like mint chocolate, but I can't eat warm mint chocolate." On the other hand, some netizens responded, "I tried it in Japan, and if you're a mint chocolate fan, it's worth trying once," and "It might be tastier than expected."

Rare Bungeoppang Stalls, Where Is Our Neighborhood's 'Bungse-gwon'?

Bungeoppang, a popular winter snack, has recently become increasingly difficult to find. Amid this, a 'Bungse-gwon' (Bungeoppang + station area) neologism has emerged, reflecting the precious status of Bungeoppang, and a 'Bungeoppang Map' has returned. The lifestyle platform Danggeun announced on the 26th that it has opened the 'Bungeoppang Map' as a season-limited service, focusing on the 'Winter Snack Map' it has operated since 2020. It is an open map service where local residents directly register and share location information. Previously, the Winter Snack Map included stores and stalls selling Bungeoppang, fish cakes, hotteok, roasted sweet potatoes, and other winter snacks, but the 'Bungeoppang Map' exclusively gathers only Bungeoppang stalls.

Carp-shaped bread, a popular winter snack, has recently become increasingly difficult to find. Amid this, a "Bungse-gwon" (Bungeoppang + station area) map, which shows the rare and prized locations selling this treat, has made a comeback. Screenshot from lifestyle platform "Danggeun"

Based on the fact that most places registered on the Winter Snack Map in the past were Bungeoppang stalls and that the search proportion for Bungeoppang is overwhelmingly high in the neighborhood map and neighborhood life tabs, the theme was limited solely to Bungeoppang. Other winter snack stores not included in this Bungeoppang Map can be found through searches within the neighborhood map tab. The newly opened Bungeoppang Map can be accessed in the 'Bungeoppang' category under the 'Neighborhood Map' tab on Danggeun.

Users can directly register, modify, or delete location information of Bungeoppang stalls, and can check the locations of Bungeoppang sales registered by neighbors as pins, not just those they added themselves. Danggeun's Bungeoppang Map provides basic information such as business hours and price ranges, as well as reviews after visits. This Bungeoppang Map is scheduled to operate until late March to early April next year.