Daejeon's hometown bakery Seongsimdang marked its 70th anniversary with a show-stopping strawberry siru.
At the April 30 opening of its 70th-anniversary exhibit Old Sincerity, Seongsimdang unveiled a centerpiece: a 70 kg (≈ 154.3 lb) strawberry siru measuring 80 cm (≈ 31.5 in) across and 25 cm (≈ 9.8 in) tall.
The strawberry siru is the bakery’s signature steamed sponge cake, famous for literally holding a whole box of strawberries. A regular strawberry siru (2.3 kg ≈ 5.1 lb) retails for 49,000 KRW (about $36.75), a smaller "maknae" version is 43,000 KRW (about $32.25), and the strawberry seolgi is 52,000 KRW (about $39.00). Customers keep coming back for the freshness and clear value.
About 90% of the strawberries used in the siru are sourced from nearby Nonsan in South Chungcheong Province, helping sustain local farms.
The Nonsan City Cooperative Corporation says 650 to 700 farms participate in the supply. Sorting and shipment are coordinated mainly through Yeonmu Nonghyup and the joint cooperative. Strawberries are picked at dawn, sorted that same morning, and shipped straight to branches without separate storage. The whole process—from harvest to delivery—takes roughly half a day, ensuring maximum freshness.
To celebrate its milestone, Seongsimdang is also hosting Old Sincerity, an exhibit that distills the company's history and philosophy. The show runs May 1 through Dec. 31 at the Seongsimdang Cultural Center and frames the bakery’s 70-year journey around the themes Heart · Bread · Faith.
